Treasury yields move higher as investors look ahead to key jobs report – CNBC
U.S. Treasury yields moved higher on Thursday as investors looked ahead to key jobs data and continued to monitor geopolitical developments.
The 10-year Treasury yield was up more than 4 basis points to 4.183%. The 2-year Treasury note was more than 2 basis points higher at 3.492%. Meanwhile, the 30-year bond yield rose more than 4 basis points to 4.856%.
One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Initial jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 3 totaled 208,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. While that marked an 8,000 increase from the previous weekly period, it was below the 210,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated.
Investors are anticipating more economic data on Friday, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ nonfarm payrolls report is expected to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Regarding jobless figures, Ian Lyngen, BMO Capital Markets head of US Rate Strategy, said in a note: “We’re cautious of the potential for seasonal distortions resulting from the holidays, but nonetheless with the Fed’s January FOMC decision approaching, it will be useful to have any additional context on the state of the labor market as 2026 gets underway.”
Data gathering by the BLS has been impaired by the 43-day U.S. government shutdown last year. This will be the first on-time payrolls report since the shutdown.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones are expecting the economy to have added 73,000 new jobs for the month, up from 64,000 in November, and the unemployment rate to go down to 4.5%.
Elsewhere, investors are keeping an eye on geopolitical developments, including the ongoing Venezuela situation, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated desire to take over Greenland.
— Jeff Cox contributed to this report
