The 10-year Treasury yields fell slightly on Thursday after data showed jobless claims unexpectedly jumped to the highest level in three months.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dipped slightly to 0.915%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell 2 basis points to 1.645%. Yields move inversely to prices.
The Labor Department said jobless claims totaled 885,000 last week, hitting their highest level since early September as the number of Covid-19 infections surged around the U.S. Economists expected 808,000 workers sought state jobless benefits during the week ended Dec. 12.
The moves came after the Federal Reserve said it would continue to buy at least $120 billion of bonds each month “until substantial further progress has been made toward the Committee’s maximum employment and price stability goals.”
The Fed, however, did not say it would extend the duration of those purchases.
The U.S. central bank also updated its economic outlook, forecasting gross domestic product (GDP) to fall by 2.4% in 2020, instead of the 3.7% fall it predicted in September. It now expected GDP to grow by 4.2% in 2021, rather than its previous prediction of 4%.
A U.S. economic stimulus package also remained in focus, as congressional leaders closed in on $900 billion of coronavirus relief funding on Wednesday.
Auctions will be held Thursday for $30 billion of 4-week bills and $35 billion of 8-week bills.
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox and Jacob Pramuk contributed to this article.
