Treasuries Show Modest Move Back To The Upside

(RTTNews) - Following the pullback seen over the course of the previous session, treasuries showed a modest move back to the upside during trading on Monday.

Bond prices drifted higher in morning trading before moving roughly sideways in the afternoon. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 1.9 basis points to 1.760 percent.

The rebound by treasuries came as traders continued to digest last Friday's Labor Department report showing much weaker than expected job growth in the month of April.

The report said non-farm payroll employment rose by 160,000 jobs in April compared to economist estimates for a jump of about 200,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department also said the annual rate of growth in average hourly employee earnings accelerated to 2.5 percent in April from 2.3 percent in March.

Treasuries may also have benefited from the release of disappointing Chinese trade data, which weighed on commodities prices amid concerns about demand.

A report showed that Chinese exports fell 1.8 percent year-over-year in April compared to expectations for a flat reading. Chinese imports also plunged by 10.9 percent, bigger than the expected 4 percent drop.

Nonetheless, trading activity was somewhat subdued amid the lack of major U.S. economic data scheduled for release on the day.

Amid another relatively quiet day on the U.S. economic front, trading on Tuesday may be impacted by reaction to the results of the Treasury Department's auction of $24 billion worth of three-year notes.