Treasuries Close Modestly Lower Following Choppy Trading Day

(RTTNews) - Treasuries showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Wednesday before closing modestly lower.

After seeing early weakness, treasuries turned higher in morning trading before pulling back in the afternoon. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by 2.1 basis points to 2.193 percent.

The lower close by treasuries came following the release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which provides anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in the twelve Fed districts.

The Fed said reports from the twelve districts indicate economic activity continued expanding across most regions and sectors during the reporting period from July to mid-August.

In light of the uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates, analysts also highlighted the central bank's acknowledgment of several districts reporting increasing wage pressures caused by labor market tightening.

Payroll processor ADP released a report earlier in the day showing a notable increase in private sector employment during the month, although the pace of job growth fell short of economist estimates.

ADP said private sector employment climbed by 190,000 jobs in August following a downwardly revised increase of 177,000 jobs in July.

Economists had expected employment to jump by about 210,000 jobs compared to the increase of 185,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed that labor productivity jumped by much more than previously estimated in the second quarter.

Economic data may continue to attract attention on Thursday, with traders likely to keep an eye on reports on weekly jobless claims, international trade, and service sector activity.