Treasury yields inch higher after only slight increase in jobless claims

By Vivien Lou Chen and Jamie Chisholm

U.S. government debt sold off modestly Thursday morning, pushing yields slightly higher, as data on weekly initial jobless-benefit claims showed businesses remain reluctant to lay off many workers.

What's happening

-- The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y rose 3.6 basis points to 3.672%, from 3.636% on Wednesday.

-- The yield on the 10-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD10Y climbed 3.3 basis points to 3.816%, from 3.783% on Wednesday.

-- The yield on the 30-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD30Y advanced 2.1 basis points to 4.151%, from 4.130% on Wednesday.

What's driving markets

In data released on Thursday, weekly initial jobless claims rose to 225,000 for the seven days that ended on Sept. 28. That's up from 219,000 in the prior week, but still at a level that reflects surprisingly low layoffs.

Market participants were looking ahead to Friday's nonfarm-payrolls report for September. The median estimate of economists polled by the Wall Street Journal is that the report will show 150,000 new jobs were created. Wednesday's ADP survey of private-sector jobs, meanwhile, was a bit stronger than forecast.Read: September surprise? U.S. jobs report holds key to Fed rate cuts.

Helping to support Treasury yields on Thursday were lingering concerns that a spike in oil prices because of the Middle East conflict and an ongoing U.S. port strike may spur a return of inflation.

-Vivien Lou Chen -Jamie Chisholm

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10-03-24 0941ET

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