U.S. Treasuries under renewed pressure on expectations of drop in initial jobless claims

The U.S. Treasuries came under renewed pressure Thursday, following expectations of a drop in the country’s initial jobless claims, scheduled to be released later in the day. Further, in reaction to increased market expectations for a Fed rate hike in the imminent future, US debt market remained subdued while the USD extended recent gains.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury rose 1 basis point to 2.47 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yield also surged 6 basis points to 3.02 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year note traded nearly 1 basis point higher at 1.29 percent by 11:50GMT.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending February 18 rose 6k, to 244k, modestly above consensus expectations of 240k. The four-week moving average in initial claims fell modestly, to 241k from 245k. Continuing claims fell by 17k, to 2.060 million, in the week ending February 11.

Despite some volatility in the data around year-end, the claims data continue to point to a low rate of separation activity in labor markets and are suggestive of favorable labor market conditions overall.

Lastly, markets will remain geared to watch the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speak on March 3 for detailed direction in the bond market.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Futures fell 0.10 percent or 2.50 points to 2,391.00 by 12:00GMT, and at 12:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Dollar Strength Index remained highly bullish at 142.53 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex