Treasuries Close Modestly Higher Following Slew Of Economic Data

(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session slightly lower, treasuries moved back to the upside during trading on Thursday.

Bond prices moved higher early in the session and showed a notable upward move going into the close. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 2.2 basis points to 2.121 percent.

The higher close by treasuries came following the release of a slew of U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing a bigger than expected increase in personal income.

The Commerce Department said personal income climbed by 0.4 percent in July after coming in unchanged in June. Economists had expected income to rise by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the report said personal spending rose by 0.3 percent in July after edging up by 0.2 percent in the previous month. Spending had been expected to increase by 0.4 percent.

The Labor Department released a separate report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged slightly higher in the week ended August 26th.

The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 236,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level of 235,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 237,000 from the 234,000 originally reported for the previous week.

MNI Indicators also released a report showing continued growth in Chicago-area business activity in the month of August.

The Chicago business barometer came in at 58.9 in August, unchanged from July. A reading above 50 indicates growth. Economists had expected the barometer to edge down to 58.5.

A separate report from the National Association of Realtors showed an unexpected decrease in pending home sales in the month of July.

NAR said its pending home sales index fell by 0.8 percent to 109.1 in July from a downwardly revised 110.0 in June. Economists had expected pending home sales to rise by 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.

Trading on Friday is likely to be impacted by reaction to the Labor Department's monthly jobs report. The report is expected to show an increase of about 180,000 jobs in August.

The closely watched monthly jobs report may overshadow data on manufacturing activity, construction spending, and consumer sentiment.