Trade, growth worries drag US bond yields lower

NEW YORK: Treasury yields fell on Thursday, with the 10-year's yield hitting a one-week low, as anxiety about slowing global growth and trade tensions between China and the United States renewed safe-haven demand for US government debt.

Investor worries rose after US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the world's two biggest economies are "miles and miles" from resolving their trade issues, although there is a fair chance of reaching a deal.

Across the Atlantic, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi cautioned regional economic risks shifted to the downside and hinted the ECB would leave interest rates at record lows "through" the summer.

Business growth in the euro zone weakened to its lowest reading since July 2013 in January, according to IHS Markit.

As other areas of the US economy have weakened, the American jobs market has remained a bright spot.

The Labor Department said first-time filings for unemployment benefits fell to 199,000 last week, the lowest level in more than 49 years.

At 10:20 a.m. EST (1520 GMT), the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was 3.2 basis points lower at 2.723 percent. It hit a one-week low of 2.708 percent earlier Thursday.