Treasuries See Further Downside Following Yesterday's Late-Day Sell-Off

(RTTNews) - Following the sell-off seen late in the previous session, treasuries showed another notable move to the downside during trading on Thursday.

Bond prices came under pressure in early trading and remained firmly negative throughout the day. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, jumped 7.6 basis points to 4.570 percent.

The ten-year yield added to the 10.9 basis point spike seen on Wednesday, reaching its highest closing level in well of six months.

The Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement continued to weigh on treasuries, as the central bank lowered interest rates by a quarter point as widely expected but forecast fewer than previously estimated rate cuts next year.

The continued weakness among treasuries also came as a batch of largely upbeat economic data has seemingly provided support for the Fed's cautious approach to further rate cuts.

The Commerce Department released a report this morning showing the pace of U.S. economic growth unexpectedly surged by more than previously estimated in the third quarter.

The report said gross domestic product shot up by 3.1 percent in the third quarter, reflecting an upward revision from the 2.8 percent jump previously reported. Economists had expected the pace of growth to be unrevised.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back by more than expected in the week ended December 14th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 220,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 242,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 230,000.

A report on personal income and spending in the month of November is likely to be in focus on Friday, as it includes the Fed's preferred readings on consumer price inflation.