U.S. Treasuries disappoint as investors remain cautious ahead of Fed Chair Yellen’s speech

The U.S. Treasuries disappointed markets Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s scheduled speech later in the day. Also, the country’s initial jobless claims, due today is expected to register a fall, which further shunned debt markets.  

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury jumped over 1-1/2 basis points to 2.41 percent, the super-long 30-year bond climbed nearly 1-1/2 basis points to 3.02 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year note traded 1/2 basis points higher at 1.26 percent by 11:40GMT.

Market uncertainties over the United States President Donald Trump administration’s fiscal stimulus plan prevails as no details have been released so far with investors waiting for a detailed budget plan in mid-May.

Investors unwound carry trades while watching to see whether President Trump can push through a healthcare bill, as failure could signal problems to come pursuing his economic agenda. Financial markets' immediate focus is on whether Trump can gather enough support at a vote later in the day to rollback Obamacare, one of his key campaign pledges.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending March 11 decreased to 241k, a touch more than our expectation (235k) and in line with consensus expectations (240k). The four-week moving average edged higher to 237k. Continuing claims for the week ending March 4 fell to 2054k from 2066k in the prior week.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Futures rose 0.20 percent to 2,347.25 by 11:40GMT, while at 11:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Dollar Strength Index remained neutral at -127.63 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex