Treasury yields steady as investors await jobs report

• March 10, 2017
• realestate
• Business & Markets, Real Estate Finance

Treasury yields moved moderately lower Friday as investors awaited the jobs report from President Donald Trump’s first full month in office. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged lower to 2.604%, while the yield on the 30-year bond was flat at 3.189%. The yield on the two-year note was off slightly at 1.376%. Treasury yields have climbed dramatically over the past two weeks, driven by the increasing probability that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates during next week’s two-day policy meeting, which begins March 14. Presently, the Fed-funds futures market is pricing in a nearly 90% chance of a hike next week, thanks largely to hawkish remarks from a bevy of Fed officials including Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen and New York Fed President William Dudley. However, market strategists believe that a print below the 150,000 level could possibly convince the Fed to hold off. But after Automatic Data Processing Inc.’s blockbuster reading on private-sector employment, which showed the U.S. economy adding nearly 300,000 jobs last month, those expectations have greatly diminished.