Ten-Year Yield Jumps To Two-Month Closing High

(RTTNews) - After pulling back off early highs to end the previous session roughly flat, treasuries showed a significant move to the downside during trading on Friday.

Bond prices regained some ground after moving sharply lower in morning trading but remained firmly in negative territory. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, jumped 9.9 basis points to 4.493 percent.

The ten-year yield moved notably higher in four of the five sessions this week, surging to its highest closing level in two months.

The recent slump by treasuries has led to speculation China is dumping their bond holdings as part of their retaliation to President Donald Trump's tariffs.

China has also announced plans to increase tariffs on U.S. imports to 125 percent beginning Saturday, continuing the tit-for-tat exchange on trade seen in recent days.

The 125 percent would match the tariff on China goods announced by President Donald Trump earlier this week, although a White House official told CNBC the effective rate is 145 percent when combined with a 20 percent fentanyl-related tariff.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari told CNBC the recent weakness among treasuries and the U.S. dollar may suggest investors are moving away from the U.S. as the safest place to invest amid Trump's escalating trade war.

"Investors around the world have viewed America as the best place to invest, and if that's true, we will have a trade deficit. So now one of the ways that expresses itself is in lower yields across asset classes in America," Kashkari said.

He added, "If the trade deficit is going to go down, it could be that investors are saying, OK, America no longer is the most attractive place in the world to invest, and then you would expect to see bond yields go up."

News on the trade front is likely to remain in the spotlight next week, while reports on retail sales, industrial production, import and export prices and housing starts may also attract attention.