WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After ending the previous session roughly flat, treasuries moved to the downside over the course of the trading day on Thursday.
Bond prices came under pressure in morning trading and remained in negative territory throughout the afternoon. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 3.4 basis points to 4.330 percent.
The weakness among treasuries came amid lingering uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday.
Powell's remarks could have a significant impact on the outlook for rates ahead of the Fed's next monetary policy meeting in September.
'Powell is likely to keep his cards close to his vest, emphasize that the Fed cares very much about their dual mandate and explain that they are data dependent and will need to see the jobs report (9/5) and the two inflation reports (9/10-9/11) before they can make a determination whether or not to cut interest rates on September 17th,' said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Northlight Asset Management.
Ahead of Powell's speech, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 73.5 percent chance the Fed will lower rates by a quarter point next month, down from 92.1 percent a week ago.
In an interview with CNBC, Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid expressed doubt about lowering interest rates in September, saying the central bank needs to 'have very definitive data to be moving that policy rate.'
'In September, we'll get around tables and we'll collaborate and we'll figure it out, but yeah, I think there's a lot to be said between now and September,' he added.
On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by much more than expected in the week ended August 16th.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 235,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 224,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 225,000.
The National Association of Realtors released a separate report showing an unexpected rebound by existing home sales in the U.S. in the month of July.
The report said existing home sales jumped by 2.0 percent to an annual rate of 4.01 million in July after tumbling by 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 3.93 million in June. Economists had expected existing home sales to decrease by 0.8 percent to an annual rate of 3.90 million.
The unexpected rebound came after existing home sales slumped to their lowest annual rate in nine-months in June.
Powell's remarks are likely to be in the spotlight on Friday amid an otherwise quiet day on the U.S. economic front.
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