By Steve Goldstein
U.S. bond yields rose on Friday as traders awaited the March jobs report after Federal Reserve officials on Thursday cast doubt on how many interest rate cuts they would make this year.
What's happening
The yield on the 2-year Treasury bond BX:TMUBMUSD02Y was 4.67%, up 1.3 basis points. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices. The yield on the 10-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD10Y was 4.34%, up 2.3 basis points. The yield on the 30-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD30Y was 4.5%, up 2 basis points.
What is driving the markets?
Yields fell on Thursday amid a sharp sell-off in the stock market, in response to tensions in the Middle East that have spurred gains in oil prices. A flurry of Fed officials appeared lukewarm at the prospect of interest rate cuts, with Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari suggesting that no cuts may be made this year.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee specifically said Thursday to watch inflation and ignore the rest of the data on the economy, when asked how he would be more confident that inflation was returning to target. "Look at price data, not employment, GDP growth, etc., because we are in a strange time," he said in a question-and-answer session.
Traders may not follow Goolsbee's advice. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal expect the Labor Department to report adding 200,000 jobs in March, up from 275,000 in February.
-Steve Goldstein
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05-04-24 0634ET
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