WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Treasuries came under pressure during trading on Thursday after pulling back near the unchanged line over the course of the previous session.
Bond prices moved to the downside early in the session and remained firmly negative throughout the day. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 4.4 basis points to 2.832 percent.
With the notable increase on the day, the ten-year yield climbed further off the two-month closing low set on Monday.
The weakness among treasuries came as stocks on Wall Street extended their recovery amid easing concerns about a potential trade war between the U.S. and China.
The U.S. and China have recently engaged in tit-for-tat tariff announcements, but traders seem optimistic that the threats are only a precursor to negotiations of a trade agreement between the two countries.
Amid the focus on trade relations, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit widened by more than anticipated in the month of February.
The Commerce Department said the trade deficit widened to $57.6 billion in February from a revised $56.7 billion in January. Economists had expected the trade deficit to widen to $56.8 billion.
The wider than expected trade deficit in February was the widest since the $60.2 billion trade deficit recorded in October of 2008.
However, Andrew Hunter, U.S. Economist at Capital Economics, noted the wider trade deficit was entirely due to a one-off royalty payment for broadcasting rights to the Winter Olympics.
A separate report from the Labor Department showed a bigger than expected increase in initial jobless claims in the week ended March 31st.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 242,000, an increase of 24,000 from the previous week's revised level of 218,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 225,000.
Nonetheless, overall trading activity was somewhat subdued as traders looked ahead to the release of the Labor Department's more closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
Employment is expected to increase by 198,000 jobs in March after spiking by 313,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 4.0 percent from 4.1 percent.
The jobs report is likely to be in focus on Friday, as traders attempt to gauge the data's impact on the outlook for interest rates.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX