U.S. government debt prices fell on Thursday as investors eyed next week's presidential election and parsed through key economic data.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was higher at 1.8117 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also higher, at 2.5998 percent.
With the election now less than a week away, a long-running view that Hillary Clinton would easily become the next president has been replaced by a belief that Donald Trump still has a chance of winning. However, the latest Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll released on Wednesday showed Clinton's lead over Trump rising back up to 6 percentage points.
Treasurys
Initial jobless claims came in at 265,000, above a consensus estimate of 258,000. Also, the preliminary read on third-quarter productivity showed an increase of 3.1 percent, well above the expected rise of 2 percent. Other data released Thursday included the ISM non-manufacturing index for October, which came in below expectations. Factory orders, meanwhile, rose for a third straight month.
"My bottom line is sentiment on the services side with respect to their businesses has been steady, albeit under the reality of a now 1.5% and mediocre growth economy. How this changes under a new President we can only soon know," said Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group.
Meanwhile, October payrolls are due to be released on Friday, which could give further indication on when the Federal Reserve could next raise interest rates.
In oil markets, U.S. crude settled at a six-week low at $44.66 a barrel, down 1.5 percent.