The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell Thursday, pulling back from a fresh 15-year high.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year note was last down about 5 basis points at 4.577%. Earlier in the session, the 10-year yield reached 4.688%, or the highest level going back to Oct. 15, 2007 when it yielded as much as 4.719%.
The yield on the 2-year Treasury fell 8 basis points to 5.06%.
Yields and prices move in opposite directions. One basis point equals 0.01%.
Weekly initial jobless claims came in lighter than expected, signaling continued strength in the labor market and boosting yields to start the day. Initial filings for unemployment benefits totaled 204,000 for the week ending Sept. 23, according to the Labor Department. Economists polled by FactSet anticipated a total of 215,000.
Investors will also watch for August personal consumption expenditure price index — one of the Fed’s preferred inflation measures — on Friday.
Wall Street is looking to insight into the state of the economy and the path for interest rates ahead. Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve said that it expects to hike rates another quarter point this year and warned that borrowing costs will stay higher for longer.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday that he was not sure if interest rates have been raised enough to successfully tackle inflation. If possible, the Fed would still like to avoid a hard landing, Kashkari added.
The prospect of continuing inflationary pressures and rates staying elevated for longer has prompted renewed fears about a potential recession.
Investors will be paying close attention to data that may provide an indication of the state of the economy and scan comments from Fed officials for clues about the economic expectations of policymakers.
— CNBC’s Gina Francolla contributed to this report.
