US Treasury Markets
11/6/2009 3:42 PM ET
(RTTNews) -
Treasuries saw moderate gains on Friday, as the day's disappointing jobs data drove some traders to move capital into the relative safety of government-backed debt.
The benchmark ten-year note saw a volatile session, swinging between gains and losses, but it managed to end the day with a solid gain. Subsequently, the yield on the note, which moves opposite of its price, closed at 3.503 percent, posting a loss of 3.0 basis points on the day.
For the week, the ten-year yield rose by 11.1 basis points but largely remained in a range, as reaction to the latest influx of bond supply and wavering economic reports was mixed.
Today's gains came on the heels of a report from the Labor Department showing that employment fell by more than expected in the month of October. The continued decrease in jobs pushed the unemployment rate up to a new twenty-six year high above 10 percent.
Non-farm payroll employment fell by 190,000 jobs in October following a revised decrease of 219,000 jobs in September. Economists had expected a decrease of about 175,000 jobs compared to the loss of 263,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
With the continued decline in jobs, the unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent in October from an unrevised 9.8 percent in September. The unemployment rate had been expected to show a more modest increase to 9.9 percent.
The bigger than expected increase lifted the unemployment rate to its highest level since a matching rate in April of 1983.
Separately, the Commerce Department released its report on wholesale inventories in the month of September, showing that inventories fell by a little less than economists had been anticipating. The report also showed a continued increase in wholesale sales.
Looking ahead to next week, the focus of the markets may shift to comments from Fed officials as well as data on jobless claims, international trade and consumer sentiment in an otherwise light week on the economic front.
by RTT Staff Writer
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