U.S. government bond yields rose Friday, at a pace for the biggest weekly gain in more than a month as investors pledged that the U.S. economy will gain strength in the coming months.
Yield on a recent 10-year Financial benchmark note traded around 1.342%, according to Tradeweb, up from 1.286% at the end of Thursday and on track for the biggest one-week gain since January 8. The 30-year bond yield was around 2.140%, up from 2.076% on Thursday.
Yields, which will rise as bond prices fall, accelerated after new data released on Friday showed that business activity in the U.S. private sector remained strong in February and that previous home sales rose last month. Investors tend to buy Treasurys when they are worried about the economy.
This week’s trends mark a recent shift from trading. The yield on the 10-year note on trading is significantly higher this week than the 1% -to-1.2% range it traded over the last month. It jumped as high as 1.331% on Wednesday after releasing better-than-expected sales data.
Many expect Treasury yields to move higher in 2021 due to factors including growing supply of Treasurys and predictions to accelerate economic growth as more widely distributed coronavirus vaccines. But this week’s jump came in yield without any major catapult, analysts said.