U.S. government debt yields ticked higher on Friday after a stronger than expected jobs report.
The yield on the 2-year Treasury rose to 2.286 percent after the strong jobs numbers, matching its Feb. 28 high, then the highest return on the note since September 2008. At the latest reading, the yield had moved lower to 2.262 percent.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was higher at around 2.894 percent at 4:17 p.m. ET, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was higher at 3.16 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
The economy added 313,000 jobs in February, far surpassing Wall Street expectations, while the unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, according to a Labor Department report Friday.
Economists surveyed by Reuters had been expecting nonfarm payroll growth of 200,000 and the unemployment rate to decline one-tenth of a percent to 4 percent. Wage growth came in less than expected, rising 0.1 percent for the month and 2.6 percent on an annualized basis.
The report was "mildly bearish because of the big beat on the headline numbers, payrolls and the like," said Jim Bianco, head of the Chicago-based advisory firm Bianco Research. But "3 percent [on the 10-year Treasury yield] is going to be a formidable target ... Bond managers are already positioned very bearishly, and that's contrarian."
Treasurys
Aside from jobs data, political developments have kept markets on edge.
President Donald Trump signed two declarations on Thursday, which would implement tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The tariffs are expected to take effect in 15 days and will put a 25 percent charge on steel, and 10 percent on aluminum. Canada and Mexico however are exempt.
Meanwhile, the U.S. incumbent has accepted an invitation to meet with the leader of North Korea Kim Jong Un by the month of May.
Outside the White House, South Korea's National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yon said Thursday that the North Korean leader had "expressed eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible."
Overseas, the Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy steady on Friday, maintaining an upbeat view on the economy.