Treasuries Close Roughly Flat After Seeing Early Weakness

(RTTNews) - After coming under pressure in early trading on Friday, treasuries showed a notable recovery over the course of the session before closing roughly flat.

Bond prices climbed well off their worst levels of the day but still closed slightly lower. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged up by less than a basis point to 2.741 percent after reaching a high of 2.768 percent.

The early weakness among treasuries came as traders looked ahead to the release of a slew of U.S. economic data next week, particularly the monthly jobs report.

Traders seemed somewhat concerned that a strong jobs report could lead the Federal Reserve to begin scaling back its stimulus program at its next monetary policy meeting.

Nonetheless, trading activity remained somewhat subdued, with many traders remaining away from their desks following yesterday's holiday. A lack of major U.S. economic data also helped keep investors on the sidelines.

While the monthly jobs report is likely to be in focus next week, a slew of other economic data is also scheduled to be released.

Reports on national manufacturing activity, new home sales, and private sector employment are likely to attract some attention along with the Fed's Beige Book.