U.S. government debt prices fell on Thursday morning, boosting yields, as investors eyed the release of data and digested further comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.897 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond climbed to 2.672 percent. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note was higher at 0.881 percent.
U.S. stocks and oil prices also fell on Thursday.
Bullard spoke at the New York Association for Business Economics, saying that a rate hike is "not far off," provided the economy evolves as expected.
Bullard, who voted to support the March policy decision, noted in a speech that the labor market had improved since December. "As it turns out, the decision to pause seems to have put more weight on the global and U.S. growth downgrade," he said in prepared remarks.
Treasurys
On Wednesday, he said in an interview that the central bank could raise rates as early as April. The comments from Bullard and several other Fed officials contrast with the dovish message sent after the Fed's last meeting. Last week, it took no action on rates and slightly downgraded its view on the economy.
On the data front, initial jobless claims came in at 265,000, below the expected 268,000. February durable goods also came in better than expected, having fallen 2.8 percent versus the expected 2.9 percent drop.
The bond market closes early Thursday, at 2 p.m. ET.
— Reuters contributed to this report.