Treasuries Move Notably Higher On Disappointing Retail Sales Data

(RTTNews) - Treasuries showed a significant move to the upside during trading on Friday, climbing further off their recent lows.

Bond prices moved notably higher in morning trading and remained firmly positive throughout the afternoon. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slid 6.5 basis points to 2.335 percent.

With the decrease on the day, the ten-year yield pulled back further off the one-month closing low it set on Wednesday.

The strength among treasuries came following the release of a Commerce Department report showing a smaller than expected increase in retail sales in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.4 percent in April compared to economist estimates for 0.6 percent growth.

However, the report also said retail sales inched up by a revised 0.1 percent in March versus the 0.2 percent drop originally reported.

Excluding a rebound in auto sales, retail sales rose by 0.3 percent in April, matching the increase seen in the previous month as well as economist estimates.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed that consumer prices rebounded in line with economist estimates in the month of April.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.2 percent in April after falling by 0.3 percent in March.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices inched up by 0.1 percent in April after dipping by 0.1 percent in March. Core prices had been expected to rise by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the University of Michigan released a report showing a modest improvement in consumer sentiment in the month of May.

The report said the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for May came in at 97.7 compared to the final April reading of 97.0. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 97.3.

Economic data may continue to attract attention next week, with traders likely to keep an eye on reports on housing starts, homebuilder confidence, and industrial production.