WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving sharply higher early in the session, treasuries gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Friday.
Bond prices pulled back well off their best levels of the day, eventually closing only slightly higher. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by 1.0 basis points to 4.660 percent after hitting a low of 4.603 percent.
Treasuries surged early in the session amid easing concerns about the outlook for interest after the Labor Department released a report unexpectedly showing a modest decrease in U.S. employment in the month of July.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment fell by 23,000 jobs in July after rising by a downwardly revised 20,000 jobs in June.
Economists had expected employment to climb by 88,000 jobs compared to the addition of 57,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
While the report points to some weakness in the labor market, the data is also seen as decreasing the chances of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates next month.
According to CME Group's FedWatch tool, the chances the Fed will raise rates by a quarter point next month have tumbled to 44 percent from 55 percent on Thursday and 67 percent a week ago.
However, treasuries pulled back well off their highs as crude oil prices jumped amid uncertainty about the situation in the Middle East.
Middle East tensions flared following attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis on a military camp in Yemen and in Saudi Arabia, a major oil supplier.
Israel resumed attacks in southern Lebanon after announcing the deaths of two reserve soldiers and severe injuries to four others in an explosion the day before.
Iran reportedly struck 'hostile targets' in the Strait of Hormuz and said a deal with Oman to manage traffic through the waterway will not fully reopen the vital global trade route, raising fresh concerns over global oil supplies.
Iran said it would bar U.S., Israeli and other 'hostile' vessels from transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
It was said that the draft bill, which seeks to impose fines of up to 20 percent of a ship's cargo value for violations of the proposed restrictions, remains under expert review and is open to recommendations before any legislative action is taken.
Despite conflicting account of discussions, U.S. President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office that the war with Iran will end 'pretty soon.' Iran has accused Trump of 'theater diplomacy.'
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
