WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After turning higher over the course of the previous session, treasuries saw some further upside during trading on Wednesday.
Bond prices advanced in morning trading and remained positive throughout the afternoon. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 2.1 basis points to 0.651 percent.
The early strength among treasuries came following the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing much weaker than expected private sector job growth in the month of August.
ADP said private sector employment increased by 428,000 jobs in August after rising by an upwardly revised 212,000 jobs in July.
Economists had expected employment to jump by 950,000 jobs compared to the addition of 167,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
'The August job postings demonstrate a slow recovery,' said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute.
She added, 'Job gains are minimal, and businesses across all sizes and sectors have yet to come close to their pre-COVID-19 employment levels.'
On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly employment report, which includes both public and private sector jobs.
Economists currently expect employment to jump by 1.400 million jobs in August after surging up by 1.763 million jobs in July. The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 9.8 percent from 10.2 percent.
Treasuries remained positive in afternoon after the Federal Reserve's Beige Book noted economic activity in the U.S. has increased over the past several weeks, but the gains were described as generally modest.
The Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in the twelve Fed districts, also noted economic activity remains well below levels prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reports on weekly jobless claims, the U.S. trade deficit and service sector activity may attract attention on Thursday, although trading activity may be somewhat subdued ahead of the monthly jobs report on Friday.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX