NEW YORK: US Treasuries were steady on Thursday as data showed weaker U.S. growth, with investors focused on an employment report on Friday for further signs about economic momentum.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, suggesting some loss of momentum in the labor market amid a sharp economic slowdown and stock market selloff.
Signs of creeping employment weakness were also flagged by a separate report showing a 218 percent jump in announced job cuts by U.S.-based employers in January. The planned layoffs were concentrated in the energy and retail sectors.
"The market expects U.S. data to slow down and the Fed not to hike even as much as it had earlier indicated," said Amrut Nashikkar, analyst at Barclays in New York.
Benchmark 10-year notes were last down 1/32 in price to yield 1.88 percent, little changed on the day.
The yields have tumbled from 2.30 percent this year on safety buying as oil and stock prices slid, with fears now also rising about the U.S. slowdown.
The federal fund futures market indicates that traders no longer expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year.
Friday's employment report is expected to show that employers added 190,000 jobs in January, according to the median estimate of 108 economists polled by Reuters.
Concerns about China's economy and the Bank of Japan's surprise move last Friday to introduce negative interest rates to stimulate the country's economy have also increased demand for U.S. bonds.
"There's a number of risk factors globally, including the situation in China, and a surprise rate cut in Japan ... that's basically what's driven yields to these levels," said Nashikkar.
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