Treasury yields rose on Friday as traders digested a volatile week in markets.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 6 basis point to 3.1240%. It hit 3.146% at one point, its highest level since 2018. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond rose about 6 basis points to 3.2210%. Yields move inversely to prices and 1 basis point is equal to 0.01%.
Treasurys
This came a day after the Fed announced a 50-basis-point interest rate hike. Yields dipped initially following the decision on Wednesday afternoon, with stock markets seeing a relief rally, after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said a more aggressive 75-basis-point hike was not on the cards.
However, stock markets sold off sharply on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunging more than 1,000 points. Investors were also heavily selling out of Treasurys, seeing yields jump.
The sell-off in both markets indicated that on reflection of Wednesday's interest rate decision, investors remained concerned that a slowdown in economic growth could be a consequence of the Fed's hawkish tightening of monetary policy.
"What we're seeing is this is a market that is continuing to be really concerned about the Fed's ability to get inflation under control," said Whitney Sweeney, investment strategist at Schroders.
In addition, weaker labor market data released on Thursday is also likely to have added to concerns. A labor productivity reading for the first quarter showed worker output had fallen at the fastest pace since 1947, while weekly unemployment insurance claims also came in slightly higher than expected.
However, April's nonfarm payrolls grew by 428,000 for April, coming in ahead of Dow Jones estimates of 400,000. The unemployment rate was expected to fall to 3.5% but stood at 3.6%.
"It was certainly a good number but not surprisingly strong and we saw average hourly earnings slow down a little bit. That's probably a little bit of a relief for the market," said Kathy Jones, Charles Schwab chief fixed income strategist. "It was a solid report. It keeps the Fed on track for raising rates, but it doesn't put a lot of pressure on them for the moment because the age gains look like they're flattening out a little bit."
Friday also saw an unusually high reading for consumer credit. The data showed a rise of $52.4 billion in March, more than double what economists expected, according to Dow Jones.
— CNBC's Hannah Miao and Patti Domm contributed to this market report.