(RTTNews) – Following the pullback seen in the previous session, treasuries saw further downside during the trading day on Thursday.
Bond prices came under pressure early in the session and remained firmly negative throughout the day. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 2.5 basis points to 4.172 percent.
The ten-year yield closed higher for the sixth time in the past seven sessions, reaching its highest closing level in three weeks.
The continued weakness among treasuries came as a batch of largely upbeat U.S. economic data led to renewed uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.
A report released by the Labor Department unexpectedly showed an extended pullback by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended September 20th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 218,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 232,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 235,000.
Jobless claims pulled back further off the nearly four-year high set in the first week of September, falling to their lowest level since hitting 217,000 in the week ended July 19th.
The Commerce Department also released separate reports showing an unexpected surge by durable goods orders in August as well as much stronger than previously estimated GDP growth in the second quarter.
“The Fed’s September dot plot indicated that additional rate cuts are likely at their next two decisions in late October and December, but the case for back-to-back cuts is no slam dunk,” said Bill Adams, Chief Economist for Comerica Bank.
On Friday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on personal income and spending in August, which includes the Fed’s preferred readings on consumer price inflation.
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