WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After seeing considerable weakness in the previous session, treasuries showed a notable move back to the upside during trading on Friday amid renewed concerns about Greece.
Bond prices moved sharply higher in early trading and saw some further upside over the course of the trading day. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 7.8 basis points to 1.969 percent.
The strength among treasuries came on the heels of news that European finance ministers were unimpressed with the austerity agreement reached by Greek political leaders on Thursday, calling for an additional 325 million euros in savings.
The other eurozone countries are also calling for guarantees that the measures will be implemented before signing off on a new 130 billion euro bailout for the debt-plagued nation.
A report showing a notable drop in Chinese imports in the month of January also contributed to the rebound by treasuries, with the data raising concerns about the level demand in the communist country.
The report showed that the value of Chinese imports in January was down 15.3 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
Further buying interest was generated by the release of a report from Reuters and the University of Michigan showing that U.S. consumer sentiment has deteriorated by more than expected in February.
The report showed that the consumer sentiment index dropped to a reading of 72.5 in February from January's final reading of 75.0. Economists had been expecting the index to edge down to 74.8.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed that the U.S. trade deficit came in wider than expected in the month of December, with the value of imports increasing at a faster rate than the value of exports.
New out of Europe is likely to attract attention next week, although traders are also likely to keep a close eye on U.S. reports on retail sales, industrial production, housing starts, jobless claims, and consumer and producer price inflation.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX