WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving to the upside early in the session, treasuries showed a notable downturn over the course of the trading day on Friday.
Bond prices pulled back well off their early highs and firmly into negative territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, jumped 5.5 basis points to 4.696 percent.
Treasuries initially moved higher following the release of a Commerce Department report showing an unexpected decrease in U.S. retail sales in the month of July.
The Commerce Department said retail sales fell by 0.6 percent in July after rising by 0.2 percent in June. Economists had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.1 percent.
The unexpected decrease in retail sales was seen as further decreasing the chances that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month following the relatively tame inflation data released earlier this week.
Buying interest quickly waned, however, as crude oil prices showed a significant rebound amid concerns about the seemingly endless conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
After plunging by more than 2 percent during Thursday's session, U.S. crude oil futures are jumping by more than 1 percent on the day.
Crude oil prices are rebounding as Trump administration officials have indicated they plan to use economic measures to force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns about a prolonged stalemate.
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