Treasuries Extend Upward Move With Moderately Higher Close

(RTTNews) - Treasuries moved moderately higher over the course of an abbreviated trading day on Wednesday, extending the upward move seen over the past few sessions.

Bond prices saw some volatility amid light trading but managed to end the day in positive territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 2.0 basis points to 2.17 percent.

With the strength on the day, treasuries closed higher for the fourth straight session, capping off the best year since 2011.

The continued strength among treasuries was partly due to lingering concerns about the global economic outlook heading into the New Year.

While the Federal Reserve is expected begin raising interest rates next year, many traders still see U.S bonds as a safe haven.

Buying interest may also have been generated by a report from the Labor Department showing a bigger than expected rebound in initial jobless claims in the week ended December 27th.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 298,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week's revised level of 281,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 290,000.

MNI Indicators also released a report showing that its Chicago business barometer fell to a five-month low in December, indicating a notably slower rate of growth in Chicago-area business activity.

On the other hand, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing a bigger than expected rebound in pending home sales in November.

NAR said its pending home sales index rose 0.8 percent to 104.8 in November after tumbling 1.2 percent to a downwardly revised 104.0 in October. Economists had been expecting the index to increase by about 0.5 percent.

A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.

Following the New Year's Day holiday on Thursday, trading on Friday may be impacted by the release of reports on manufacturing activity and construction spending.