US Treasury yields hold higher after auction
U.S. government debt prices fell on Friday as oil prices wavered and stocks struggled for gains.
The yield, which moves inversely to the price, on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note ticked higher to 1.768 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond also rose to 2.639 percent.
The Treasury Department on Friday auctioned $28 billion in seven-year notes at a high yield of 1.568 percent. The bid-to-cover ratio, an indicator of demand, was 2.25, versus a recent average of 2.51.
Indirect bidders, which include major central banks, were awarded 53.5 percent. Direct bidders, which includes domestic money managers, bought 14.2 percent.
The auction, originally scheduled for Thursday, was postponed due to a "technical issue." That glitch appears to have costs the Treasury about 10 basis points, according to Thomas Simons, an economist at Jefferies and Company.
Treasurys
| TICKER | COMPANY | YIELD | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| US1M | U.S. 1 Month Treasury | 5.371% | +0.017 |
| US3M | U.S. 3 Month Treasury | 5.408% | +0.019 |
| US6M | U.S. 6 Month Treasury | 5.396% | +0.019 |
| US1Y | U.S. 1 Year Treasury | 5.172% | +0.02 |
| US2Y | U.S. 2 Year Treasury | 4.823% | +0.004 |
| US10Y | U.S. 10 Year Treasury | 4.441% | -0.004 |
| US30Y | U.S. 30 Year Treasury | 4.585% | -0.008 |
Investors also digested Friday better-than-expected U.S. GDP data.
U.S. economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter, but not as sharply as initially thought, with businesses less aggressive in their efforts to reduce unwanted inventory, which could hurt output in the first three months of 2016.
Gross domestic product increased at a 1.0 percent annual rate instead of the previously reported 0.7 percent pace, the Commerce Department said on Friday in its second GDP estimate.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected that fourth-quarter GDP growth would be revised down to a 0.4 percent pace. The economy grew at a rate of 2.0 percent in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, personal income and spending both rose 0.5 percent in January.
In oil markets, Brent crude traded at $35.07 per barrel, down 0.6 percent, while U.S. crude settled lower at $32.78 a barrel.
— CNBC's Patti Domm and Reuters contributed to this report