Treasuries Pull Back Sharply Ahead Of Powell Speech

(RTTNews) - Following the upward trend seen over the past several sessions, treasuries showed a notable pullback during trading on Thursday.

Bond prices came under pressure early in the session and remained sharply lower throughout the trading day. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, shot up 8.4 basis points to 3.862 percent.

The ten-year yield increased for the first time in five sessions, bouncing off its lowest closing level in well over a year.

The sharp pullback by treasuries partly reflected profit taking as traders looked ahead to the Kansas City Fed's Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, which gets underway later in the day.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at the symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, with traders looking for the central bank chief's comments to provide further clarity about the outlook for interest rates.

Ahead of Powell's remarks, CME Group's FedWatch Tool indicates a 75.5 percent of a quarter point rate cut next month and a 24.5 percent chance of a half point rate cut.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing a modest rebound by initial jobless claims in the week ended August 17th.

The report said initial jobless claims rose to 232,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level of 228,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 230,000 from the 227,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors released a separate report showing existing home sales snapped a four-month skid in July, with sales rebounding by slightly more than expected.

Powell's remarks at the Jackson Hole symposium are likely to be it the spotlight on Friday, overshadowing a report on new home sales.