Treasuries Give Back Ground Following Recent Strength

(RTTNews) - After moving higher over the course of the previous session, treasuries moved back to the downside during trading on Thursday.

Bond prices came under pressure in early trading and remained in the red throughout the day. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 4.3 basis points to 4.189 percent.

The pullback by treasuries may have reflected profit taking following recent strength, with the ten-year yield moving higher after ending Wednesday's trading at its lowest closing level in over four months.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits climbed by much more than expected in the week ended July 13th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 243,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week's revised level of 223,000.

Economists had expected initial jobless claims to edge up to 230,000 from the 222,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia released a separate report showing the pace of growth reaccelerated by much more than expected in the month of July.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity jumped to 13.9 in July from 1.3 in June, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 2.9.

The report said most future activity indicators also rose, suggesting more widespread expectations for overall growth over the next six months.

The Conference Board also released a report showing a modest decrease by its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of June.

The report said the leading economic index edged down by 0.2 percent in June after falling by a revised 0.4 percent in May.

Economists had expected the leading economic index to dip by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.5 percent decline originally reported for the previous month.

Trading on Friday may be somewhat subdued amid a lack of major U.S. economic data, although comments by Fed officials may attract some attention.