U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Thursday as investors looked to fresh economic data and remarks from Federal Reserve officials.
At 3:56 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by less than one basis point to 3.7791%. The 2-year Treasury yield was last at 3.5653% after rising by over one basis point.
Yields and prices move in opposite directions. One basis point equals 0.01%.
After the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points earlier this month, investor attention has shifted back to the state of the U.S. economy and whether a slowdown or downturn is on the horizon.
Fresh data on Thursday could provide some hints about this to investors, with durable goods orders, weekly initial jobless claims and a final reading of the second quarter gross domestic product slated to be released.
Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting weekly initial jobless claims to come in at 223,000 for the most recent period.
Also on Thursday, a series of Fed policymakers including central bank Chairman Jerome Powell are set to give remarks, which investors will be parsing through for hints about their expectations for the economy.
Elsewhere, the Swiss National Bank on Thursday cut its key interest rate by a quarter point, marking the third reduction this year.
Back in the U.S., attention is also turning to key inflation data out Friday. The personal consumption expenditures price index for August is due to be released then. It is the Fed’s favored inflation measure and could therefore not only provide clues about the state of the economy, but also the outlook for monetary policy.
