Treasuries Extend Notable Upward Move On Job Openings Data

(RTTNews) - Treasuries moved notably higher during trading on Tuesday, extending the strong upward move seen over the past sessions.

Bond prices advanced in early trading and remained firmly positive throughout the day. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slid 6.6 basis points to 4.336 percent.

The ten-year yield closed lower for the fourth straight session, pulling back further off the nearly one-month closing high set last Wednesday.

The continued advance by treasuries came amid signs of weakness in the labor market, with a report from the Labor Department showing a modest decrease in U.S. job openings in the month of April.

The Labor Department said job openings fell to 8.059 million in April from a downwardly revised 8.355 million in March.

Economists had expected job openings to dip to 8.340 million from the 8.488 million originally reported for the previous month.

Bond traders are seemingly optimistic that the weakness in the labor market will encourage the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates in the coming months.

On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly jobs report, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for the economy and interest rates.

Economists currently expect the report to show employment jumped by 190,000 jobs in May after climbing by 175,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.9 percent.

Trading on Wednesday may be impacted by reaction to reports on private sector employment and service sector activity in the month of May.