Treasuries Climb Off Worst Levels But Close Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - After turning higher over the course of the previous session, treasuries gave back some ground in early trading on Friday.

Bond prices climbed well off their worst levels but still finished the session slightly lower. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by nearly a basis point to 1.917 percent.

The early weakness among treasuries came as traders reacted to the latest batch of U.S. economic data, including a report from the Commerce Department U.S. economic growth in the third quarter was unrevised from the previous estimate.

The Commerce Department said real gross domestic product jumped by 2.1 percent in the third quarter, unchanged from the estimate released last month and in line with economist expectations.

The unrevised GDP growth in the third quarter reflects a modest acceleration from the 2.0 percent increase seen in the second quarter.

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed a notable acceleration in the pace of personal income growth in the month of November.

The report said personal income climbed by 0.5 percent in November after inching up by a revised 0.1 percent in October.

Economists had expected personal income to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the virtually unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.

The Commerce Department said personal spending also climbed by 0.4 percent in November following a 0.3 percent increase in October. The spending growth matched economist estimates.

Trading activity may be subdued next week due to the Christmas holiday, although traders are still likely to keep an eye on reports on durable goods orders and new home sales.

The Treasury Department is also scheduled to announce the results of this month's auctions of two-year, five-year and seven-year notes.