Treasury yields slipped Wednesday as investors considered the state of the economy amid a series of key data releases.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by nearly 6 basis points at 4.283%. The 2-year Treasury yield pulled back to 4.724% after falling by roughly 5 basis points. Yields and prices have an inverted relationship. One basis point equals 0.01%.
Traders got new data that pointed to a softening labor market.
Private payrolls rose by 152,000 in May, according to ADP. That was below the 175,000 expected by economists, according to Dow Jones, and down from 188,000 in April. Those numbers came a day after the Labor Department said there were 8.059 million job vacancies in April, the lowest in three years less than the expected 8.4 million.
More key labor market data is due Friday in the form of nonfarm payrolls figures and the unemployment rate for May.
On a more positive note, another Wednesday report showed strength in the U.S. services sector. The ISM’s purchasing managers index tracking the services sector rose to 53.8 in May, compared to an estimate from Dow Jones that called for 50.7. A number above 50 indicates expansion within the space.
That comes ahead of the next Fed meeting next week. While markets are widely anticipating interest rates to remain unchanged then, investors will be paying close attention to what policymakers might say about the outlook for policy and the economy.
