Treasurys Little Changed as Debt Sales Loom

U.S. government bonds were little changed Monday as investors took stock after Friday's solid jobs report.

In recent trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was 2.271%, according to Tradeweb, compared with 2.269% Friday.

Yields, which rise when bond prices fall, climbed modestly Friday after the Labor Department reported that the economy added 209,000 jobs in July, while average hourly earnings increased 2.5% from the previous year. Both data points beat analysts' expectations, giving investors' some cause for economic optimism after a stretch of disappointing economic data had helped pull yields lower in previous trading sessions.

This week, bond prices could be weighed down by new debt issuance. A $24 billion auction of three-year Treasury notes is scheduled for Tuesday, followed by $23 billion of 10-year notes Wednesday and $15 billion of 30-year bonds Thursday. Analysts also expect a big week for corporate bond sales as businesses try to catch investors before they leave for summer vacation.

Other major events this week include a speech by Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley on Thursday and consumer-price index data on Friday.

Mr. Dudley's speech will take on extra importance because it comes not long before the Fed's Jackson Hole conference at the end of the month, and what Mr. Dudley says "will maybe set the tone for Jackson Hole," said Russ Certo, managing director of rates at Brean Capital LLC.

As it stands, most investors don't expect the Fed to raise interest rates again until December at the earliest. Still, many remained concerned that, especially if inflation picks up, the Fed and European Central Bank could soon start tightening monetary policy simultaneously, potentially causing a selloff in bonds.

Write to Sam Goldfarb at sam.goldfarb@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 07, 2017 11:12 ET (15:12 GMT)