U.S. government debt prices were slightly higher Thursday morning as investors await key U.S. jobless claims figures for last week.

U.S. government debt prices were slightly higher Thursday morning as investors await key U.S. jobless claims figures for last week.At around 2:30 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, was slightly lower at 0.6361%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also fractionally lower at 1.2671%.
Yields plunged on Wednesday after the record declines in the latest manufacturing and retail data highlighted the dire outlook for the U.S. economy as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Focus Thursday will be attuned to the Labor Department’s report on last week’s initial jobless claims. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect new unemployment claims to hit 5 million, which would bring the total to 22 million in just one month after a record 6.6 million claims the previous week.
President Donald Trump insisted on Wednesday that the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. has “passed the peak.”
As of Thursday morning, more than 639,000 cases have been confirmed stateside, resulting in more than 30,000 deaths.
The initial jobless claims figures are due at 8:30 a.m. ET, along with March building permits and housing starts data.
Auctions will be held Thursday for $90 billion of 4-week Treasury bills and $70 billion of 8-week bills.