10-year yield rises after unemployment rate falls to 3.9%, continuing big increase to start 2022
U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly on Friday morning following the release of December’s nonfarm payrolls report.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 2.7 basis points to 1.76%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond added 2.9 basis points to 2.12%. Yields move inversely to prices and 1 basis point is equal to 0.01%.
December’s nonfarm payrolls grew by 199,000, while economists were expecting the economy to have added 422,000 jobs in December, according to estimates compiled by Dow Jones.
While the overall jobs number was disappointing, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The unemployment rate was forecast to come in at 4.1%.
Plus, average hourly earnings increased by 0.6%, above expectations.
“This report says it’s a tight labor market. Employers can’t find workers. The unemployment rate went down. Overall headline payroll growth is mediocre but it feels like more of an ongoing labor supply issue,” said John Briggs, head of global strategy at NatWest Markets.
Treasury yields have been climbing all week, pressuring the equity market, specifically the technology sector.
The 10-year yield topped 1.75% on Thursday, as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes, in which officials indicated that the central bank was ready to more aggressively pull back its policy support of the economy. The 10-year Treasury sat around 1.5% at the end of 2021.
On Thursday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said that the Fed could hike interest rates as soon as March.
In addition, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said that the central bank needs to raise raise in order to keep the economy in balance. However, Daly added that the Fed should reduce its balance sheet only after raising rates.
There are no auctions scheduled to be held on Friday.
— CNBC’s Pippa Stevens contributed to this market report.
