WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Treasuries moved to the upside during trading on Thursday, regaining ground following the pullback seen in the previous session.
Bond prices moved moderately higher over the course of the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped by 2 basis points to 0.765 percent.
The strength among treasuries came amid renewed uncertainty about a new stimulus bill after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the idea of passing a stand-alone bill providing aid to airlines without a broader relief package.
However, Pelosi also noted that negotiations continue over a broader bill, saying, 'We're at the table. We want to continue the conversation. We've made some progress, we're exchanging language.'
On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report showing initial jobless claims came in above estimates in the week ended October 3rd.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 840,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 849,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 820,000 from the 837,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Treasury Department revealed that its auction of $23 billion worth of thirty-year bonds attracted below average demand.
The thirty-year bond auction drew a high yield of 1.578 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.29, while the ten previous thirty-year bond auctions had an average bid-to-cover ratio of 2.37.
The bid-to-cover ratio is a measure of demand that indicates the amount of bids for each dollar worth of securities being sold.
Traders are likely to keep an eye on developments in Washington on Friday, looking for clues about the likelihood of a new stimulus bill.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX