U.S. 10-Year Notes Gain for a Fifth Day Amid Concern on Economy

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries gained, sending 10-year yields a one-month low, as jobless claims rose, business- equipment orders fell and home sales were less than forecast, raising concern about the health of the economic recovery.

The benchmark security rallied for a fifth day, the longest streak of gains in more than a month. Thirty-year bond yields dropped after a report showed inflation remains below the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Seven-year note yields reached a four-week low before the Treasury sells $29 billion of the securities.

“The data is a bit weaker than expected,” said Charles Comiskey, head of Treasury trading at Bank of Nova Scotia in New York, one of 22 primary dealers that trade with the Federal Reserve. “There are no sellers, only buyers. It’s a function of flows. There’s a lot of money that continues to buy Treasuries regardless of what’s going on, so it’s going to have a bid.”

The 10-year yield fell two basis points, or 0.02percentage point, to 2.24% at 10:26 a.m. New York time, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader data. It touched 2.23%, the lowest level since Oct. 23. Seven-year note yields fell two basis points to 1.95% and reached 1.94%, the lowest since Oct. 28.

NOTE AUCTION

The U.S. will auction seven-year securities today at 11:30 a.m. Treasuries will close worldwide tomorrow for the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. Trading will stop at 2 p.m. New York time Nov. 28, the group’s website shows.

Yields on the securities to be sold today traded at 1.96% in pre-auction trading, which would be the lowest level at an auction of the maturity since October 2013. At the last seven-year sale on Oct. 30, investors submitted orders to purchase 2.42 times the securities offered, the lowest since November 2013.

Jobless claims increased by 21,000 to 313,000 in the week ended Nov. 22, the highest since early September, from 292,000 in the prior period, the Labor Department reported today in Washington.

Orders for non-military U.S. capital goods excluding aircraft fell 1.3% for a second straight month, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected a 1% gain. Bookings for all durable goods rose 0.4%, versus a Bloomberg survey forecast for a 0.6% decline.

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc.’s business barometer decreased to 60.8 in November from 66.2 the prior month that was the strongest level in a year, according to a report today. Readings greater than 50 signal growth.

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