Treasuries Close Firmly Positive On Disappointing Retail Sales Data

(RTTNews) - After turning lower over the course of the previous session, treasuries moved back to the upside during trading on Monday.

Bond prices moved higher in early trading and managed to remain in positive territory throughout the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 4.5 basis points to 2.556 percent.

The strength among treasuries was partly due to the release of a report from the Commerce Department showing weaker than expected retail sales growth.

The Commerce Department said retail sales increased by 0.4 percent in June compared to a downwardly revised 0.5 percent increase in May. Economists had been expecting retail sales to jump by 0.8 percent.

Excluding a notable increase in auto sales, retail sales came in unchanged in June versus economist estimates for a 0.5 percent increase.

Separately, the New York Federal Reserve released a report showing that conditions for New York manufacturers have continued to improve modestly in July.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index rose to 9.5 in July from 7.8 in June, with a positive reading indicating an increase in regional manufacturing activity. The increase surprised economists, who had been expecting the index to drop to 5.0.

A separate report from the Commerce Department showing that business inventories edged up by 0.1 percent in May, while business sales surged up by 1.1 percent.

Trading on Tuesday may be impacted by another batch of economic data, including reports on consumer prices, industrial production, and homebuilder confidence.