U.S. Treasury yields fell Friday as investors digested remarks from Federal Reserve officials about the outlook for interest rates and the latest economic data.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by 6 basis points at 3.735%. The 2-year Treasury yield was trading at 4.75% after declining by 5 basis points.
Yields and prices move in opposite directions. One basis point equals 0.01%.
Treasurys
Investors digested comments that Fed speakers including Chairman Jerome Powell made throughout the week, which indicated that further interest rate hikes are on the horizon.
Speaking before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, Powell suggested policymakers would continue using interest rate increases to bring down inflation. However, compared with last year, there is now less urgency to "move quickly," he said, adding that economic data would play a key role in the Fed's decision-making.
That comes after Powell said Wednesday that the Fed's battle with inflation still "has a long way to go."
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman echoed Powell's comments on Thursday, saying she believed rates need to go higher still to become "sufficiently restrictive" and push inflation closer to the central bank's 2% goal.
Investors also considered the latest economic data, with Thursday's initial weekly jobless claims figure coming in above expectations at 264,000, and interest rate decisions from central banks around the world.
The Bank of England announced a surprise 50 basis point rate hike on Wednesday, while Turkey's central bank almost doubled interest rates in a big monetary policy shift.