Treasuries Move Modestly Higher, Extending Yesterday's Rebound

(RTTNews) - Treasuries saw modest strength during trading on Friday, extending the rebound seen over the course of the previous session.

Bond prices gave back ground after an early advance but remained in positive territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 1.2 basis points to 4.378 percent.

The ten-year yield added to the 2.8 basis point drop seen on Thursday, pulling back further off Wednesday's one-month closing high.

Treasuries showed a strong move to the upside following the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management U.S. manufacturing activity continued to expand in April but at a slightly slower than expected pace.

The ISM said its manufacturing PMI came in at 52.7 in April, unchanged from March. While a reading above 50 still indicates growth, economists had expected the index to inch up to 53.0.

The strength among treasuries also came amid an extended pullback by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures tumbling by nearly 3 percent.

U.S. crude oil futures showed a significant downturn on Thursday, slumping by 1.7 percent after reaching their highest levels in four years.

The continued decrease by crude oil prices came amid reports Iran has delivered its response to the latest U.S. amendments on the agreement to end the war through Pakistani mediators.

Traders seemed to shrug off the response from President Donald Trump, who told reporters at the White House that he was "not satisfied" with Iran's proposal.