Treasuries Extend Drop, Pushing Ten-Year Yield To Highest Level In A Year

(RTTNews) - Treasuries moved notably lower during trading on Friday, extending the downward trend seen over the past several sessions.

Bond prices came under pressure in late morning trading and moved roughly sideways thereafter. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 5.9 basis points to 2.335 percent.

The ten-year yield closed higher for the eighth time in nine sessions, reaching its highest closing level in over a year.

The continued weakness among treasuries reflected the recent downward momentum in the bond markets amid concerns about inflationary pressures under President Donald Trump.

On the U.S. economic front, the Conference Board released a report showing a slight increase by its index of leading economic indicators.

The report said the leading economic index crept up by 0.1 percent in October after edging up by 0.2 percent in September. The uptick by the index matched economist estimates.

"Although its six-month growth rate has moderated, the index still suggests that the economy will continue expanding into early 2017," said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at the Conference Board.

While next week's trading activity may be somewhat subdued due to the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday, traders will be presented with several key economic reports.

Trading could be impacted by reaction to reports on new and existing home sales, durable goods orders, and consumer sentiment.

The Federal Reserve is also scheduled to release the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting, which could shed some additional light on the outlook for interest rates.

Bond traders are also likely to keep an eye on the results of the Treasury Department's auctions of two-year, five-year, and seven-year notes.

The Treasury plans to auction $26 billion worth of two-year notes next Monday, $34 billion worth of five-year notes next Tuesday and $28 billion worth of seven-year notes next Wednesday.