Treasury yields moved higher Thursday, extending their rise after a weakly received sale of 7-year notes in the final full trading session of 2023.
Sifma, the finance-industry trade group, has recommended that U.S. bond trading close an hour early at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Friday. Financial markets in the U.S. and much of the world will be closed Monday for New Year’s Day.
What yields are doing
- The yield on the 2-year Treasury note BX:TMUBMUSD02Y was up 3.7 basis points to 4.267%, after falling to the lowest level since May in Wednesday’s session. Yields and debt prices move opposite each other.
- The 10-year Treasury note yield BX:TMUBMUSD10Y rose 5.6 basis points to 3.843%.
- The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond BX:TMUBMUSD30Y rose 3.9 basis points to 3.985%. Yields on both the 10-year and 30-year notes dropped Wednesday to their lowest levels since July.
Market drivers
Yields extended their rise after the Treasury Department sold $ 40 billion in 7-year notes BX:TMUBMUSD07Y, producing a high yield of 3.859%, versus a when-issued yield of around 3.84% ahead of the sale.
Yields remain lower on the week, however, and have declined sharply since the 10-year topped 5% in October, a decline accelerated by expectations for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates in 2024.
The path of least resistance for yields remains lower thanks to the Fed’s dovish pivot, “and until economic data or Fed speak causes a reversal of that momentum, it’s not a question of if yields will decline, it’s a question of ‘by how much,’” said Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research, in a note.
The disappointing 7-year result stood in contrast to a sale Wednesday of $ 58 billion in 5-year notes that was easily absorbed, and which followed a sale of 2-year notes a day earlier.
“The U.S. 5-year paper saw a bumper demand, as investors continued to pile in to secure good deals at the current yields based on the expectation that the yields will further crumble when the Fed starts chopping the rates,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, in a note.
Data released Thursday showed the number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits had risen for a second-straight week. Initial jobless claims rose by 12,000, to 218,000, in the week ended Dec. 23, according to Labor Department data.
The U.S. trade deficit in goods widened 0.8% to $ 90.3 billion in November, according to an advanced estimate from the Commerce Department.
Pending home-sales data showed sales were flat in November compared with the previous month.