US bond yields decline following wage growth slowdown

Benchmark US Treasury bond yields declined at the end of Friday’s trading session following the employment data that painted a bleak picture of the labour market in the United States last February.

Ten-year US Treasury bond yields fell to 4.080%, compared to the last daily close, which at 4.085%. The index of change in non-farm employment in the United States rose to 275,000 jobs last February, but the previous reading of the index was revised to 229,000 jobs compared to the actual reading, which recorded 353,000 jobs.

The reading was also higher than market expectations of 200,000 jobs. Wage growth indicators declined, as the average hourly earnings index in the United States fell to 0.1% and 4.3%, compared to 0.5% and 4.4% the previous month, at the monthly and annual levels, respectively.

The unemployment rate also rose to 3.9% last February, compared to the previous reading of 3.7% and higher than the previous reading recorded the previous month.

The highest level of these returns on the trading day reached Friday at 4.097%, compared to the lowest levels recorded in the same session at 4.064%.

US employment data has raised speculation that the Federal Reserve may begin cutting interest rates soon, which would harm US bond yields, which are negatively affected by talk of reducing current rates.