WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving notably lower over the course of the previous session, treasuries saw some further downside during trading on Thursday.
Bond prices came under pressure in morning trading and remained firmly negative throughout the afternoon. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, advanced by 4.7 basis points to 2.914 percent.
With another significant increase on the day, the ten-year yield reached its highest closing level in almost two months.
The continued weakness among treasuries came following the release of some upbeat economic data, including a report from the Conference Board showing its index of leading U.S. economic indicators rose in line with estimates in March.
The Conference Board said its leading economic index rose by 0.3 percent in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.7 percent in February.
Despite the slowdown in the pace of growth, Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at the Conference Board, noted the six-month growth rate points to continued solid growth in the U.S. economy for the rest of the year.
'The strengths among the components of the leading index have been very widespread over the last six months,' Ozyildirim said. 'However, labor market components made negative contributions in March and bear watching in the near future.'
The Labor Department also released a report showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended April 14th.
The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 232,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 233,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 230,000.
A separate report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed regional manufacturing activity unexpectedly saw a modestly faster rate of growth in the month of April.
The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity inched up to 23.2 in April from 22.3 in March, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to dip to 20.1.
Trading on Friday may be somewhat subdued, as some traders are likely to stay on the sidelines amid a quiet day on the U.S. economic front.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX