WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After trending lower over the past several sessions, treasuries regained some ground over the course of the trading day on Friday.
Bond prices moved steadily higher in morning trading before moving roughly sideways in the afternoon. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 4.2 basis points to 3.067 percent.
The drop on the day came after the ten-year yield rose to 3.109 percent on Thursday, its highest closing level since July of 2011.
Bargain hunting may have contributed to the rebound by treasuries following the notable decline seen over the past few sessions.
Treasuries also likely benefited from uncertainty about the outcome of the second round of trade talks between the U.S. and China.
Various news outlets said China had offered to reduce its trade surplus with the U.S. by $200 billion, although Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang quickly denied the reports.
'This rumor is not true. This, I can confirm,' Lu told reporters. 'I do not know about the offers made by either party.'
He added, 'As we know the consultations are still underway. I am not getting ahead of that. The consultations themselves are constructive.'
On Thursday, President Donald Trump expressed some doubt about whether the high-level trade talks with China will be successful.
Trump told reporters he tends to doubt the talks will be successful in remarks during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
'The reason I doubt it is because China has become very spoiled,' Trump said. 'The European Union has become very spoiled. Other countries have become very spoiled, because they always got 100 percent of whatever they wanted from the United States.'
However, Trump also claimed he would not allow the U.S. to be taken advantage of anymore and sounded more optimistic in later remarks.
'I can only tell you this; we're going to come out fine with China,' Trump said. 'Hopefully, China's going to be happy. I think we will be happy.'
Overall trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines.
The economic calendar for next week starts off relatively light, although reports on new and existing home sales and durable goods orders are likely to attract attention as the week progresses.
The Federal Reserve is also scheduled to release the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting next Wednesday, potentially shedding light on the outlook for interest rates.
Bond traders are also likely to keep an eye on the results of the Treasury Department's auctions of two-year, five-year, and seven-year notes.
The Treasury is due to sell $33 billion worth of two-year notes next Tuesday, $36 billion worth of five-year notes next Wednesday and $30 billion worth of seven-year notes next Thursday.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX