Treasury yields were flat on Thursday, the last trading day of 2020, as investors assessed new data on the labor market and the status of a fresh coronavirus stimulus package.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was little changed at 0.925%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also flat at 1.662%. Yields move inversely to prices. The 10-year yield had topped 0.95% during the previous session.
The number of first-time unemployment-benefits filers totaled 787,000 for the week ending Dec. 26, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting a print of 828,000.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blocked an attempt to unanimously pass a bill to increase direct payments in the year-end coronavirus relief package to $2,000.
McConnell faces pressure to act after the House — with nearly all Democrats and a few dozen Republicans on board — voted Monday to increase the cash deposits to $2,000 from $600.
Senate Republicans wary of spending more on pandemic aid are looking for a way to both meet the demands of a president who called the year-end coronavirus relief and funding bill a disgrace and hold on to their majority during races overshadowed by the crisis.
— CNBC’s Sam Meredith and Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.
