After moving notably higher over the course of the previous session, treasuries showed a lack of direction during trading on Friday.<\/p>\n
Bond prices spent much of the day lingering near the unchanged line before closing nearly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to 1.632 percent.<\/p>\n
The choppy trading on the day came as traders continued to digest yesterday’s Labor Department report showing initial jobless claims once again dropped to their lowest level in well over a year.<\/p>\n
The data further reinforced the view that the disappointing monthly employment report for April was an anomaly and not a sign of an economic downturn.<\/p>\n
Traders generally remain optimistic about the economic outlook but also remain wary of signs that the Federal Reserve will soon consider tapering its asset purchases.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors released a report this morning showing an unexpected decrease in existing home sales in the month of April.<\/p>\n
NAR said existing home sales tumbled by 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 5.85 million in April after plunging by 3.7 percent to a rate of 6.01 million in March. The slump surprised economists, who had expected existing home sales to surge up by 2.0 percent.<\/p>\n
Existing home sales declined for the third straight month but were still up by 33.9 percent compared to the same month a year ago. <\/p>\n
Looking ahead, next week’s trading may be impacted by reaction to reports on new home sales, consumer confidence, durable goods orders, and personal income and spending.<\/p>\n
Bond traders are also likely to keep an eye on the results of the Treasury Department’s auctions of two-year, five-year and seven-year notes. <\/p>\n