Bonds edge lower, dollar mixed
Treasury prices fall as traders shrug off surprising drop in durable goods; greenback continues to slide against yen.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Treasury prices edged lower Friday after traders saw signs of underlying strength in the latest economic report, encouraging speculation that the Federal Reserve may keep raising interest rates. The benchmark 10-year note slipped 4/32 to 99-13/32, yielding 4.57 percent, up slightly from 4.55 percent late Thursday. The 30-year bond lost 11/32 to 99-18/32, yielding 4.52 percent, up from 4.50 percent in the previous session. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The five-year note fell 3/32 to yield 4.64 percent, while the two-year note was unchanged. New orders for durable goods plunged 10.2 percent in January, the biggest drop in 5-1/2 years, as non-defense aircraft orders posted their largest decline since December 1998, the Commerce Department said. Economists had forecast the often-volatile, durable goods orders measure to decline a much smaller 1 percent. But outside transportation, orders for items built to last three years or more increased 0.6 percent, slightly more than economists had expected, and the third straight monthly gain for the number, the Commerce Department report showed. Investors are looking ahead to a heavy batch of data next week, including a second look at fourth-quarter economic growth and a report on national manufacturing for February. In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the yen after Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui suggested the central bank's five-year-old policy of flooding the financial system with money would end soon. The dollar bought ¥116.86, down from ¥117.12 in the previous session. The euro fell against the dollar, buying $1.1878, down from $1.1919 late Thursday. -- from staff and wire reports _________________ Click here for updated bond charts. |
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