U.S. Treasury yields jumped on Friday as traders cheered April’s nonfarm payrolls data that beat expectations.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield rose more than 9 basis points to 4.33%. The 2-year Treasury yield surged by more than 14 basis points at 3.845%.
One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%. Yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Data released Friday showed stronger-than-expected job growth in April, easing concern over the effects of President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs on the economy. Nonfarm payrolls increased a seasonally adjusted 177,000 for the month, slightly below the downwardly revised 185,000 in March but far above the Dow Jones estimate for 133,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, as expected, indicating a stable labor market.
The Street is now looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s May 6-7 meeting, where it will decide on interest rate, currently at 4.25% to 4.50%. Traders are largely expecting the Fed to keep rates unchanged for both that meeting and the next, no longer considering a move from the central bank until July in the wake of the latest jobs data, as per the CME Group FedWatch Tool.
“I think there was some nervousness, obviously, that we were going to start to see some unemployment really pick up in this print, and it didn’t really happen,” Rhys Williams, chief investment officer at Wayve Capital, told CNBC. “Employment, at least through April, looks pretty strong.”
Investors were similarly encouraged Friday by China revealing that it is evaluating the possibility of starting trade talks with the U.S., according to a statement from its commerce ministry, saying senior U.S. officials reached out “through relevant parties multiple times” in hopes of starting tariff negotiations.
Chinese authorities reiterated Beijing’s request for the U.S. to remove all unilateral tariffs, saying a failure to do so would “further compromise mutual trust” between the two countries. “If the U.S. wants to talk, it should show its sincerity and be prepared to correct its wrong practices and cancel the unilateral tariffs,” the statement said.
U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods currently stand at 145%, with China slapping 125% retaliatory levies on the U.S. in return.
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Pia Singh and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.
