Bonds gain, dollar weakens
Longer-dated Treasuries move higher as crude hits all-time high; greenback declines vs. euro, yen.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Bond prices rose on the long end Friday as soaring oil prices sparked inflation concerns, but shorter-dated maturities were little changed. The dollar fell against the euro and yen.
The 10-year Treasury rose 9/32 to 96-3/32 to yield 5.01 percent, down from 5.04 percent late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. Last Thursday, the benchmark yield surpassed the 5 percent mark for the first time since June 2002. The yield on the 10-year note has jumped nearly three quarters of a percentage point in the past three months as investors have bet the Fed might raise short-term rates more than originally expected. The 30-year bond added 22/32 to 90-29/32 to yield 5.09 percent, down from 5.14 percent the previous session. The five-year note gained 2/32 to yield 4.91 percent. The two-year note was little changed, yielding 4.89 percent. Shorter-dated bond prices held steady Friday, but longer-dated maturities -- which are influenced by the long-term inflation outlook for the economy -- gained as the price of oil soared. U.S. light crude oil for June delivery set a new trading high of $75.35 before easing to settle up $1.48 at $75.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, also a new closing record. There was no economic data on the calendar Friday, but a spate of releases are slated for next week, including the closely watched advanced release of first-quarter gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity. Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com are looking for GDP to grow at a 5 percent annual rate during the first quarter after posting a sluggish 1.7 percent gain in the fourth quarter. Trading is also likely to gear up ahead of comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who is scheduled to testify Thursday before Congress on the state of the economy. Bernanke isn't expected to offer many clues on when the Fed might end its now 21-month-old rate-boosting campaign, but investors will be closely watching his comments. "He is going to dance around the weeds a little bit, calling for the Fed to be data-dependent," Alan De Rose, a trader at CIBC World Markets, told Reuters. Economists widely expect central bank policymakers to hike rates to 5 percent at their May meeting, but whether they will pause after that meeting remains unclear. In currency trading, the euro bought $1.2346, up from $1.2314 late Thursday, while the dollar bought ¥116.63, down from ¥117.57 the previous session. ______________ Click here for updated bond charts. |
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