us credit markets 110509
On the homepage
Vikings
Out There
Artetera
Table Talk
Treasury prices mixed as signs of low inflation offset by increasing risk appetite
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on Facebook
Share on Digg
Minnesota business by the numbers
See Minnesota's top earning companies, CEOs and non-profits
More from Business
NEW YORK - Treasury prices traded in a narrow range Thursday as investors welcomed additional signs that inflation is likely to remain in check.
In late trading, the 10-year note, often used as a benchmark for interest rates on consumer loans, slipped 1/32 to 100 24/32. Its yield remained unchanged at 3.53 percent from late Wednesday.
Productivity, the output per hour of work, jumped at its fastest pace in six years, a sign employers are getting more out of fewer workers. Higher productivity should help keep wages in check as employers don't have to add to their payroll, which in turn can hold inflation to a minimum.
The productivity report comes a day after the Federal Reserve kept its key lending rate at historic lows on Wednesday, saying it does not foresee inflation being a problem.
Stocks surged Thursday after a better-than-expected report on initial jobless benefits claims. The Dow ended above 10,000 for the first time in two weeks after gaining 204 points. Traders diving into the stock market will often invest money in stocks at the expense of safe havens like government debt.
In other trading, the 30-year bond fell 1/32 to 101 18/32. Its yield was flat at 4.40 percent.
The two-year note rose 1/32 to 100 7/32, while its yield slipped to 0.89 percent from 0.91 percent.
The yield on the three-month T-bill fell to 0.03 percent from 0.04 percent. Its discount rate was 0.04 percent.
The cost of borrowing between banks fell fractionally. The British Bankers' Association said the rate on three-month loans in dollars — the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor — fell to 0.27531 percent from 0.27750.
Recent Business stories
Home sales likely rose in October to highest level since July 2007 as tax credit spurs sales - November 5, 2009
Home sales likely rose in October to highest level since July 2007 as tax credit spurs sales - Home resales for October are projected to rise to the highest level in more than two years as first-time buyers, anticipating that a tax credit would soon expire, rushed to beat the clock. More
Blog: Patent Pending
Lights out at U energy conference. Irony police notified.
Just as Lawrence Kazmerski, a top official at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, was about to give the keynote address at the University of Minnesota's annual E3 conference at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, the lights went out, bathing the audience in darkness and a deep sense of irony.
Comment on this story | Be the first to comment | Hide reader comments