Treasuries Regain Ground Following Disappointing Economic Data

After trending lower over the past several sessions, treasuries regained some ground during trading on Thursday.

Bond prices moved to the upside early in the session and remained firmly positive throughout the day. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slid 5.7 basis points to 3.545 percent.

With the decrease on the day, the ten-year yield pulled back off its highest closing level in almost a month.

Treasuries seemed to benefit from their appeal as a safe haven following the release of some disappointing U.S. economic data.

A report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted at an accelerated rate in the month of April.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current activity slumped to a negative 31.3 in April from a negative 23.2 in March, with a negative reading indicating a contraction. Economists had expected the index rise to a negative 19.2.

With the unexpected decrease, the Philly Fed Index dropped to its lowest level since hitting a negative 43.2 in May 2020.

The Labor Department also released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by slightly more than expected in the week ended April 15th.

The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 245,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 240,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 240,000 from the 239,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Separate reports released later in the morning showed existing home sales pulled back by than expected in March, while the Conference Board’s leading economic index also slumped by much more than expected.

Following today’s slew of U.S. economic data, trading activity may be subdued on Friday amid a lack of major data.

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