U.S. Treasury yields were flat Friday after a hotter-than-expected inflation data following big gains this week.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was little changed at 1.484% at 9:13 a.m. ET. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was less than a basis point lower at 1.857%. Yields move inversely to prices and 1 basis point is equal to 0.01%.
Treasury yields have rebounded this week with the 10-year yield climbing from its close at the 1.3% level the week prior
The November consumer price index surged 6.8% year over year, the fastest rate since 1982, the Labor Department reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected the index to climb 6.7% from the year prior, while some investors feared an even higher figure.
The yield on the 10-year note inched higher immediately following the CPI release before ebbing lower.
“The 10-year Treasury yield had a bit of a knee-jerk reaction, and have settled … below their opening. This could reflect the view that higher inflation will lead to earlier and faster monetary policy tightening by the Fed, which would lead to cooler growth in the medium term,” said Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics.
On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that 184,000 initial jobless claims were filed last week, well below the 211,000 forecast by economists and the lowest reading since 1969.
Both these sets of data are important, particularly inflation, with the Federal Reserve due to hold a monetary policy meeting next week. The Fed is expected to announce that it will speed up the tapering of its asset purchasing program.
The University of Michigan is set to release its preliminary December consumer sentiment findings at 10 a.m. ET.
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed to this market report.
