Treasuries Extend Recent Upward Move With Modestly Higher Close

(RTTNews) - Extending the upward move seen over the past few sessions, treasuries moved modestly higher during trading on Friday.

Bond prices moved moderately higher over the course of morning trading before giving back some ground in afternoon. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 1.2 basis points to 2.52 percent.

With the modest drop, the ten-year yield closed lower for the fifth consecutive session, pulling back near the one-month closing low set early last week.

The continued strength among treasuries was partly due to lingering concerns about the financial stability of troubled Portuguese lender Banco Espirito Santo.

Optimism about the Federal Reserve leaving rates at near-zero levels for some time to come also generated some buying interest.

Nonetheless, trading activity was somewhat subdued on the day due to the absence of any major U.S. economic data.

The economic calendar picks back up next week with the release of several key economic reports as well as Congressional testimony by Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

Traders are likely to keep a close eye on reports on retail sales, producer price inflation, industrial production, housing starts, and regional manufacturing activity.