NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Treasury prices advanced Thursday for the fourth straight session amid falling oil prices and news that key economic indicators were softer than expected, tempering fears about fast-growing inflation.
The dollar slipped against the euro and the yen.
At about 4:30 PM ET, the price on the benchmark 10-year note gained 15/32 to 101-5/32 to yield 4.6 percent, down from 4.66 late Wednesday, and the 30-year bond added 22/32 of a point to 100-26/32 to yield 5.32 percent, down from 5.37 percent late Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The two-year note rose 4/32 to yield of 2.46 percent, and the five-year note gained 9/32 to yield 3.73 percent.
U.S. light crude for July delivery settled Thursday below $40 at $39.44 a barrel as OPEC's president said the cartel was considering a big output increase to make a "psychological impact.''
Figures from the Commerce Department showed that the gross domestic product rose an annualized 4.4 percent in the first quarter, up from an initial estimate of 4.2 percent but lower than economists' forecasts.
Perhaps more important for the market, the price index for core personal consumption expenditures, one of the Fed's favored inflation gauges, was revised to a 1.7 percent gain from 2 percent.
The data indicated to investors that inflation is not rising as fast as expected, making the Federal Reserve less likely to aggressively raise interest rates in near term, which is positive news for bond investors as higher rates erode the value of Treasurys.
"The details of the GDP report may have given Treasuries a boost as the Fed's preferred inflation target, the core personal consumption expenditures index, was revised down to 1.7 percent from 2 percent for the first quarter," Chris Rupkey, senior financial economist at Bank of Tokyo/Mitsubishi, told Reuters.
The data released Thursday also included a first reading of corporate profits, which proved softer than many analysts had expected, and initial jobless claims eased only slightly to 344,000 last week from 347,000, missing forecasts of a fall to 335,000.
The dollar's retreat against the euro and the yen complemented the gain in Treasurys.
Even though weak economic data boosted bonds by tempering the possibility of an quick interest rate hike, higher interest rates make U.S.-based assets more appealing to global investors by increasing yields, and foreign investors must buy dollars.
The euro bought $1.2274, up from $1.2106 late Wednesday, and the dollar bought ¥100.84, down from ¥111.90.
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