Treasuries Close Roughly Flat Following Choppy Trading Day

(RTTNews) - Treasuries showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Friday before ending the session roughly flat.

After seeing early weakness, treasuries turned higher as the day progressed before pulling back going into the close. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 2.196 percent.

The choppy trading came following the release of some key U.S. economic data, including a report from the Federal Reserve showing a bigger than expected increase in industrial production.

The report said industrial production climbed by 0.6 percent in July after inching up by 0.1 percent in June. Economists had expected production to increase by about 0.4 percent.

The bigger than expected increase in production reflected a rebound in manufacturing output, which the Fed attributed to an increase in production of motor vehicle assemblies.

Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, said, "Consumers are still spending money, carrying manufacturing through a difficult environment marked by sluggish exports and cautious business investment."

"This report is likely to be welcomed by the Fed point as further evidence of a manufacturing recovery from the blow dealt by last year's sharp rise in the dollar," he added.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed that producer prices rose by slightly more than expected in July amid a notable increase in service prices.

Traders seemed somewhat reluctant to make significant moves, with uncertainty about the situations in China and Greece weighing on their minds.

Economic data is likely to attract attention next week, with several key housing reports due to be released along with a report on consumer price inflation.