US Treasuries prices slipped on Thursday, pulling benchmark yields off seven-week lows, on hints of stock market stability and on nervousness ahead of a key employment report. Bonds rallied for four consecutive days through Wednesday as stocks retreated from their summer highs, but Wall Street's modest recovery and Friday's looming US nonfarm payrolls report for August gave the market pause.
Thursday's news on the service sector and weekly jobless claims reinforced a mixed economic recovery picture, further encouraging investors to adopt a more neutral stance on payrolls - the month's biggest data release. In late trade, the 30-year bond was down 16/32 in price, yielding 4.15 percent after earlier losing a point. The 30-year yield closed at 4.12 percent on Wednesday.
The benchmark 10-year note slipped 5/32, its yield rising to 3.33 percent from 3.31 percent on Wednesday. The Treasury said it would sell $70 billion worth of bonds at auction next week, largely in line with expectations. Issuance has been a concern for the bond market in light of expectations that the government is auctioning $2 trillion in new bonds this year, but demand for US Treasury debt has proved resilient.
The as-expected auction slate for next week left the focus on Friday's jobs report. Chinese shares led the global equities rally overnight with a 4.8 percent gain in the Shanghai Composite Index after a top regulator said China's market was healthy.
Optimism on Chinese equities assured investors the country could support a global economic recovery, dimming the allure of safe-haven government bonds. Bonds briefly trimmed their losses after an unexpectedly weak reading on claims for jobless benefits boosted demand slightly for safe-haven assets.
Analysts said the weakness in the numbers boded well for bond investors, many of whom are betting that the US economic recovery will be gradual and fragile following the worst recession in decades. A poor employment outlook will keep consumer spending and inflation low. Robust price growth is bad for bonds because it erodes their purchasing power over time. The disappointing claims reading preceded Friday's nonfarm payrolls report. Analysts polled by Reuters expected the latter report to show the labour market's deterioration slowed in August, losing 225,000 jobs versus July's 247,000.