U.S. Treasurys were little changed on Thursday as debt ceiling deal negotiations appeared to progress, giving investors hope that the crisis would soon be resolved.
At 5:34 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was flat at 3.591%. The 2-year Treasury yield was trading less than a basis point higher at 4.165%.
Yields and prices move in opposite directions and one basis point equals 0.01%.
Concerns about the U.S. defaulting on its debt eased slightly after both House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden indicated that they believed a deal would be reached ahead of the June 1 deadline. That is the date the U.S. could become unable to pay its debt obligations, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned.
Such a default could be highly problematic for economy, leading to significant gross domestic product declines and job losses and cause turmoil in bond and stock markets worldwide.
Investors also looked to economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials for clues about the outlook for the U.S. economy and central bank policy.
Throughout the week, Fed speakers shared mixed views on what could be next especially for interest rate policy. While some suggested more needed to be done to lower inflation, others reiterated the idea that the impact of higher rates is not yet being felt fully.
Further remarks from Fed officials are expected Thursday, alongside weekly initial jobless claims data and April’s existing home sales figures.
