NEW YORK: US Treasury yields rose on Thursday, in line with European bonds, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi left the door open for additional monetary policy easing but gave no indication that more stimulus was actually coming.
The rise in yields, which move inversely to prices, was being driven by the long-end of the curve, notably US 30-year bonds, whose yields rose for a second straight session.
Draghi said on Thursday the bank was looking at options to ensure it could pursue its unprecedented money-printing program, with euro zone inflation still way below its official target. However he said an extension of its 80-billion-euro monthly asset purchases was not discussed at the meeting.
Germany's 10-year Bund yield was up at minus 0.090 percent , while 30-year bond yields rose to 0.459 percent .
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese 10-year government bond yields rose as much 6-7 basis points each.
"The (German) bund weakness have spilled over to Treasuries mostly on the lack of new quantitative easing coming from the ECB, which is being interpreted as less dovish," said David Keeble, global head of interest rates strategy, at Credit Agricole in New York.
In mid-morning New York trading, benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were down 8/32 in price to yield 1.568 percent, from 1.539 percent late on Wednesday. Yields had fallen as low as 1.519 percent on Wednesday, a three-week trough.
The 30-year Treasury bond fell 23/32 in price to yield 2.270 percent, from 2.236 percent on Wednesday.
Long-dated Treasury debt yields also edged higher on data showing US initial weekly jobless claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 259,000 for the week ended Sept. 3, the lowest level since mid-July.
Prices of two-year notes were flat with a yield of 0.742 percent.
Fed funds futures prices on Thursday after the jobless claims data indicated that investors see an 18 percent chance of a rate hike at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting this month, from 15 percent late on Wednesday.
The perceived likelihood of a December rate increase, however, was about 52 percent, versus 47 percent the previous day.
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