U.S. Treasury yields moved higher on Thursday as investors assessed the latest move from the European Central Bank and awaited key jobs and inflation data this week.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note ticked up about 2 basis points to 3.047%. Short-term yields saw sizeable gains, with the 2-year yield rising more than 4 basis points to 2.817%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond rose slightly to 3.185%. Yields move inversely to prices, and a basis point is equal to 0.01%.
The moves come as market participants assess the prospect of interest rate rises in Europe and closely monitor economic data that could shape the Federal Reserve's rate-hiking strategy.
The European Central Bank confirmed its plan to hike interest rates in July and possibly again in September. The central bank also revised its growth projections down and its inflation projections up.
"While markets were divided on whether July would bring a 0.25% or 0.5% rate hike, we now know it will be a 0.25% rise in line with President Lagarde's forward guidance towards the former. The ECB opened the door for a 0.5% rate hike in September, however. In addition, the central bank's preparedness to resume asset purchases if necessary has hawkish implications for the medium-term path of policy rates," said Gurpreet Gill of Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
On the data front, U.S. initial jobless claims came in at 229,000, higher than expected.
Markets are also looking ahead to May's consumer price index reading on Friday, with the print likely to be influential in the scale and speed of the Fed's monetary tightening path. The White House has acknowledged that it expects an uptick in inflation on Friday.
Money Report
Auctions were held for $35 billion in 4-week bills, $30 billion in 8-week bills and $19 billion in 29-year and 11-month bonds. Yields retreated slightly after the close of the long-term auction.
— CNBC's Elliot Smith contributed to this report.
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