NEW YORK: US Treasury yields climbed on Thursday as risk appetite improved and geopolitical tensions eased after President Donald Trump said a possible attack on Syria may not be imminent, contrary to what he signaled on Wednesday.
Over the last couple of sessions, the US bond market has traded off political and international headlines, temporarily superseding economic data. Even though the overall trend for yields, which move inversely to prices, remained higher, the movements have been much more narrow and contained.
Referring to his threatened strike on Syria in response to a suspected poison gas attack on a rebel enclave, Trump tweeted on Thursday, "Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!"
His comment pushed benchmark US 10-year note yields to a one-week high, after a lackluster auction of the security on Wednesday.
"There is less immediate concern about military strikes or action in Syria," Jim Vogel, interest rates strategist, at FTN Financial in Memphis, Tennessee, said.
"It doesn't move it to the back-burner, but it allows you to look around and trade other things and that gives room for rates to rise just a little bit from their sort of cramped or compressed levels," he added.
Yields were also boosted by data showing US initial jobless claims dropped 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 for the week ended April 7, reflecting continued improvement in the labor market. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 230,000 in the latest week.
In morning trading, the US 10-year yields rose to 2.821 percent, from 2.79 percent late on Wednesday.
US 30-year yields climbed to 3.036 percent, from Wednesday's 3.005 percent.
On the front end of the curve, US 2-year yields were up at 2.343 percent, compared with 2.311 percent on Wednesday.
Later in the session, the US Treasury will auction $13 billion in reopened 30-year bonds, a day after the 10-year note sale drew its lowest demand in nearly 1-1/2 years from so-called "indirect bidders," which include fund managers and foreign central banks.
"Today's 30-year auction offers less risk for bond investors provided it clears the market below 3.04 percent," FTN's Vogel said.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.