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U.S. Treasury yields slipped early Friday after news that President Donald Trump caught the COVID-19 disease, while investors await the September employment from the Labor Department.
What are Treasurys doing?
The 10-year Treasury note yield TMUBMUSD10Y, 0.652% fell 1.3 basis points to 0.664%, while the 2-year note rate TMUBMUSD02Y, 0.128% down 0.6 basis point to 0.125%. The 30-year bond yield TMUBMUSD30Y, 1.431% slid 1.5 basis points to 1.440%. Bond prices move inversely to yields.
What’s driving Treasurys?
President Donald Trump said he tested positive for the coronavirus after his aide Hope Hicks had also tested positive for the disease. Trump will now enter quarantine, creating fresh uncertainty over the race for the White House in November against Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
The development has shifted the focus away from upcoming economic data that was expected to command market participants’ attention.
The U.S. Labor Department will release its September jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET, with economists forecasting 800,000 job gains down from August’s increase of 1.371 million. The unemployment rate is expected to tick lower to 8.2%.
See: Last U.S. jobs report before election could show smallest gain in rehiring since May
In other data, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index for last month will be published at 10 a.m.
What did market participants’ say?
“The news of the President’s testing complicates an already uncertain election season with just over a month to go. Volatility was already picking up before this news. Downside risk far outweighing,” said Gregory Faranello, head of U.S. rates at AmeriVet Securities.
