U.S. Treasury yields were slightly lower on Friday as market participants awaited a fresh batch of economic data.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dipped less than 1 basis point to 2.8857%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond also ticked under 1 basis point lower to 3.1554%. Yields move inversely to prices, and a basis point is equal to 0.01%.
The shorter-term 2-year Treasury yield fell 1 basis point to 3.215% after slipping in the previous session following another economic report that showed a slowdown in inflation.
The moves helped to ease inversions along the yield curve, which are seen as recession signals by Wall Street.
The producer price index, which gauges the prices received for final demand products, fell 0.5% from June, the first month-over-month decrease since April 2020, the month after Covid-19 was declared a pandemic. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting an increase of 0.2%.
The PPI marked a second report this week pointing to easing price pressures. Data on Wednesday showed that U.S. consumer prices rose 8.5% year over year in July, slowing from the previous month in large part due to a drop in oil prices. Economists had expected an 8.7% annual climb.
The data reflected an easing of inflation and prompted investors to question the prospects of the Federal Reserve slowing the pace of rate hikes as soon as September.
Market participants on Thursday will once again await the release of economic data for further clues on the health of the U.S. economy.
Import prices for July will be released at around 8:30 a.m. ET, with a preliminary reading of consumer sentiment for August slated to follow at 10 a.m. ET.
— CNBC’s Jesse Pound contributed to this report.