After ending the previous session roughly flat, treasuries turned in another lackluster performance during trading on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Bond prices initially moved to the upside but showed a lack of direction as the day progressed before closing modestly lower. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by 1.8 basis points to 1.800 percent.<\/p>\n
The choppy trading came as traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.<\/p>\n
Economists currently expect employment to increase by 153,000 jobs in January after rising by 199,000 jobs in December. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.9 percent.<\/p>\n
The strength of the monthly jobs data could impact expectations regarding how fast the Federal Reserve will raise rates from near-zero levels in an effort to fight inflation.<\/p>\n
Payroll processor ADP’s report on private sector employment will provide an early look at the strength of the labor market on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing growth in U.S. manufacturing activity continued to slow in the month of January.<\/p>\n
The ISM said its manufacturing PMI fell to 57.6 in January from a revised 58.8 in December, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the sector. The index decreased for the third straight month, slipping to its lowest level in over a year.<\/p>\n
Economists had expected the manufacturing PMI to drop to 57.5 from the 58.7 originally reported for the previous month.<\/p>\n
Trading on Wednesday may be impacted by reaction to ADP’s report on private sector employment, which may provide clues about the Labor Department’s more closely watched monthly jobs report. <\/p>\n