US Treasury yields sway higher following better-than-expected jobs data
yields continued trudging higher Thursday after economic data that suggested the U.S. labor market remains strong.
The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits, known as jobless claims, fell more than expected to 202,000 last week, lower than consensus estimates of 216,000, according to the Labor Department.
New state unemployment benefit claims rose by 12,000 last week to 218,000.
At the same time, U.S. private employers hired more workers than expected in December, according to the ADP National Employment Report.
Private payrolls increased by 164,000 jobs last month, the largest monthly increase since August.
The signs of stability in the labor market continued to weigh on expectations that the Federal Reserve would begin cutting benchmark interest rates at its March meeting. Futures markets are now pricing in a 35% chance that the Fed keeps rates at their current range between 5.25% and 5.5%, up from a 13% chance seen a week ago, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.
Markets see a 60% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut.
«People are looking at the labor market data and starting to second-guess whether that is enough for the Fed to cut rates,» said Matthew Routh, a portfolio manager at Barrow Hanley Global Investors.
The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was up 7.7 basis points to 3.984%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was up 7.7 basis points to 4.134%.
Yields of the benchmark 10-year are up approximately 15 basis points over the first three trading days of the new year, and briefly traded above 4% on Wednesday.
The two-year U.S.
