Treasury yields fall after poor jobs numbers
NEW YORK (AP) — Treasury prices are rising after the government reported that applications for unemployment benefits are still elevated, a sign of weakness in the job market.
Investors often rush to safer investments like U.S. government bonds when they're worried that the economy may be stalling.
On Thursday, the price of the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 34 cents for every $100 invested. The yield on the note fell to 1.95 percent from 1.99 percent late Wednesday.
The government easily sold $29 billion of 7-year notes. They were priced at a yield of 1.347 percent, the lowest on record. There were $2.83 worth of bids for every dollar in notes sold, slightly above the average of $2.81 over the previous four auctions, according to broker CRT Capital Group.
It was the last auction of the week. The government sold 5-year and 2-year debt earlier in the week
The Labor Department said Thursday that unemployment applications totaled 388,000 last week. That brought the four-week average, a less volatile figure, to 381,750, the highest in three months, a sign that employers had stepped up layoffs and added fewer jobs. When applications fall below 375,000, it generally suggests that hiring will be strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.
In other trading, the 30-year Treasury bond rose 43 cents for every $100 invested. Its yield fell to 3.12 percent from 3.15 percent late Wednesday.
The yield on the two-year Treasury note fell to 0.26 percent from 0.27 percent. The yield on the three-month Treasury bill was unchanged at 0.09 percent.
