Treasuries Climb Off Worst Levels But Close Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - After moving notably lower early in the session, treasuries regained some ground over the course of the trading day on Thursday.

Bond prices climbed well off their worst levels of the day but still closed in negative territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 2.1 basis points to 4.286 percent.

The ten-year yield closed higher for the third straight session, continuing to rebound after hitting its lowest intraday level since October during trading on Tuesday.

The early weakness among treasuries came after the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by more than expected in the week ended March 1st.

The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 221,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 242,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 235,000.

Selling pressure waned over the course of the session, however, as uncertainty about President Donald Trump's trade policies increased the appeal of safe havens such as treasuries.

Trump later revealed Mexico will not be required to pay tariffs on goods and services that are compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement until April 2nd.

The Labor Department's monthly jobs report is likely to be in the spotlight on Friday, although traders are also likely to keep an eye on remarks by several Federal Reserve officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell.