Treasuries Close Roughly Flat After Recovering From Early Weakness

(RTTNews) - After coming under pressure in morning trading on Friday, treasuries staged a recovery over the course of the afternoon.

Bond prices climbed well off their worst levels to end the day roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 2.467 percent after reaching a high of 2.513 percent.

The rebound by treasuries came as President Donald Trump delivered his inaugural address after officially being sworn in as the 45th president.

Trump remained light on policy details in his remarks but pledged to lead an administration that puts America first.

The speech hewed closely to the themes of Trump's presidential campaign, offering a populist message and promising to solve the many problems he sees facing the nation.

Trump touted his plan to boost infrastructure spending, which a new Gallup poll showed Americans think is his most important campaign promise to keep.

The president's remarks have been described as protectionist, as he lamented U.S. policies that have enriched foreign industry and subsidized the armies of other countries at the expense of America's industry and military.

He argued that this has ripped the wealth of the middle class from their homes and redistributed it all across the world.

"But that is the past. And now, we are looking only to the future," Trump said. "We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power."

"From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land," he added. "From this day forward, it's going to be only America first."

Trump concluded his relatively brief remarks by reiterating his frequent campaign pledge to "Make America Great again."

Next week's trading may be impacted by reaction to the latest batch of economic data, including reports on new and existing home sales, durable goods orders, and fourth quarter GDP.

Bond traders are also likely to keep an eye on the results of the Treasury Department's auctions of two-year, five-year, and seven-year notes.

The Treasury is due to sell $26 billion worth of two-year notes next Tuesday, $34 billion worth of five-year notes next Wednesday and $28 billion worth of seven-year notes next Thursday.

Trading activity could also be impacted by any significant developments in Washington as Trump begins his first full week as president.