Yields on 10-year Treasuries rose to as high as 1.8572 percent from 1.8172 percent in late US trading on Wednesday, moving further away from their record low of 1.38 percent hit on July 25. They last stood at 1.8467 percent.
A strong US industry output report on Wednesday, came after similarly solid retail sales and employment data for July released earlier in the month, all helping to elevate the yields above 1.85 mark for the first time since early May.
Trading activity was relatively thin due to the summer holiday season, and profit-taking will likely limit any bigger gains, market participants said.
A slew of data due later on Thursday was also capping any bigger gains. It included US housing starts and building permits for July, weekly jobless claims and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's August business activity survey.
Beyond that, markets will be watching the Jackson Hole meeting of central bankers and economists at the end of the month, US jobs data due early in September and the ECB's policy meeting early next month for clues over policy actions, analysts said.
Treasury Department announces sales of 3- and 6-month bills, 52-week bills, and 5-year Treasury inflation-protected securities at 1500 GMT.