Bond yields on both sides of the Atlantic fell back after touching their highest levels for more than a decade on Wednesday, as weak US labour market data helped ease investors’ concerns over the Federal Reserve’s “higher for longer” message on interest rates.
Yields on benchmark 10-year US Treasuries were down 0.08 percentage points in late afternoon trading in New York at 4.73 per cent, having earlier hit a 16-year high of 4.88 per cent. German 10-year Bund yields — a benchmark for the eurozone — fell to 2.92 per cent, after reaching 3 per cent in early trade, the highest level since 2011. Yields rise as prices fall.
The move down in bond yields came after data on Wednesday showed private sector employers in the US increased hiring at the slowest pace in more than two and a half years as large companies shed jobs, signalling a cooling labour market ahead of Friday’s official non-farm payrolls report.
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