U.S. Treasuries gain on hopes of fall in July non-farm payrolls; lower jobless rate to cap further highs

The U.S. Treasuries gained Friday as investors hope to see a fall in the country’s non-farm payrolls for the month of July, while the unemployment rate is expected to fall, which might cap any further rise in bond prices.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasuries slipped 1 basis point to 2.97 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields fell nearly 1-1/2 basis points to 3.10 percent and the yield on the short-term 2-year traded tad lower at 2.66 percent by 10:50GMT.

The most important data release today is the US labour market report. Another firm increase in non-farm payrolls is on the cards, with the market consensus currently predicting 193k, but following a strong ADP employment report earlier in the week, risks to that estimate appear to be skewed slightly to the upside.

While the unemployment rate is expected to fall below 4.0 percent, growth of average hourly earnings will probably be only slightly changed from 0.2 percent m/m and 2.7 percent y/y in June, Daiwa Capital Markets reported.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Futures edged 0.04 percent higher to 2,829.50 by 10:55GMT, while at 10:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Dollar Strength Index remained highly bullish at 101.33 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex