Treasuries Move Moderately Higher, Extending Recent Uptrend

(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session little changed, treasuries moved moderately higher during trading on Thursday.

Bond prices moved to the upside in early trading and remained positive throughout the session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 2.1 basis points to 2.248 percent.

The strength among treasuries extended a recent upward trend, as bonds continued to recover from the sharp pullback in late October and early November.

Traders were digesting the latest batch of U.S. economic news, including a report from the Labor Department showing a modest drop in initial jobless claims in the week ended November 14th.

The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 271,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 276,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 270,000.

A separate report from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve said regional manufacturing conditions have seen a slight improvement in the month of November.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current activity rose to a positive 1.9 in November from a negative 4.5 in October.

The positive reading indicated growth in regional manufacturing activity after two months of contraction. The index had been expected to rise to a negative 0.5.

Additionally, the Conference Board released a report showing a slightly bigger than expected increase by its index of leading economic indicators in the month of October.

The Conference Board said its leading economic index climbed by 0.6 percent in October after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in September. Economists had expected the index to rise by 0.5 percent.

Friday represents a quiet day on the U.S. economic front, although traders are likely to keep an eye on a speech by St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard.