U.S. government-bond yields rose Friday, on pace for the biggest weekly gain in over a month as investors bet that the U.S. economy will gain strength in the coming months.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note recently traded around 1.342%, according to Tradeweb, up from 1.286% at Thursday’s close and on track for the largest one-week gain since Jan. 8. The 30-year bond yield was around 2.140%, up from 2.076% Thursday.
Gains in yields, which rise when bond prices fall, accelerated after new data released Friday showed business activity in the U.S. private sector remained robust in February and sales of previously owned homes rose last month. Investors tend to buy Treasurys when they are worried about the economy.
This week’s moves marks a shift from recent trading. The yield on the 10-year note has traded notably higher this week than the 1%-to-1.2% range it traded over the past month. It jumped as high as 1.331% Wednesday following the release of better-than-expected retail sales data.
Many expect Treasury yields to move higher in 2021 due to factors including an increasing supply of Treasurys and forecasts for accelerating economic growth as coronavirus vaccines are more widely distributed. But this week’s jump in yields came without any major catalyst, analysts said.
