After contradictory reports on jobs, bonds go back and forth, and world stocks stay flat.
Friday, government bond markets were all over the place because official U.S. jobs data showed that the strong job market was weakening, which seemed to go against other employment reports.
Partial solid data on the U.S. job market sent bond markets into a frenzy of selling on Thursday. On Friday, official U.S. non-farm payrolls showed that companies hired 209,000 more people in June, less than expected, down from 339,000 in May; this showed that the job market was going differently than what was shown in ADP’s private employment report on Thursday. That report showed that U.S. payrolls rose by 497,000 last month, much more than the 228,000 increase that was expected.
The two-year Treasury yield, which shows how people think interest rates will change, fell by seven basis points to 4.93% right after the non-farms report. Two-year yields jumped above 5% earlier in the day because people thought tight job markets would make the Federal Reserve keep raising interest rates.
Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds, which had increased by more than 17 bps in the previous two sessions, went down by two bps to 4.022%. As prices go up, bond rates go down.
This week, there had been a lot of selling on European bond markets because of what was happening in the U.S. This week; however, things went backwards.
After a 15-year high on Thursday, Germany’s two-year bond yield dropped six bps to 3.298%.
In Britain, where traders are preparing for a slowdown and an increase in interest rates to 6.5%, two-year gilt yields fell from their highs after 2008, dropping eight bps to 5.42%.
Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds, which had increased by more than 17 bps in the previous two sessions, went down by two bps to 4.022%. As prices go up, bond rates go down.
This week, there had been a lot of selling on European bond markets because of what was happening in the U.S. This week; however, things went backwards.
After a 15-year high on Thursday, Germany’s two-year bond yield dropped six bps to 3.298%.
In Britain, where traders are preparing for a slowdown and an increase in interest rates to 6.5%, two-year gilt yields fell from their highs after 2008, dropping eight bps to 5.42%.
