Treasury yields pulled back Thursday as investors awaited data on U.S. private-sector payrolls and a weekly reading on jobless claims a day ahead of the official May jobs report from the Labor Department.
What Treasury yields are doing
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, 2.911% fell to 2.917% from 2.93% at 3 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday.
- The 2-year Treasury note yield TMUBMUSD02Y, 2.653% was 2.662% versus 2.664% Wednesday afternoon.
- The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond TMUBMUSD30Y, 3.050% stood at 3.056% versus 3.075% late Wednesday.
What’s driving the market
Investors continue to assess the strength of the economy as the Federal Reserve pursues a series of interest rate increases in its bid to get inflation under control.
Jobs data will be in focus Thursday and Friday. A tight labor market has contributed to inflation pressures. Data on Wednesday showed that job openings declined to 11.4 million in April, albeit from a record 11.9 million a month earlier. The number of people quitting their jobs was little changed around 4 million.
ADP’s estimate of private-sector payrolls for May is due at 8:15 a.m. ET, though economists caution that the reading has often been a poor guide to the official jobs data month to month. Weekly jobless benefit claims figures are due at 8:30 a.m. Revised first-quarter productivity and unit-labor cost estimates are also set for release.
April factory orders data is scheduled for 10 a.m., while Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester is scheduled to speak at 1 p.m.
What analysts are saying
“U. S. labor market releases may shape markets over the next two days, which would imply ongoing pressure on higher real and nominal yields. This will most likely be flanked by ongoing hawkish central bank rhetoric,” wrote economists at UniCredit Bank, in a note.