NEW YORK (AP) — Interest rates notched small changes in the bond market Friday as a mixed report on unemployment left investors with a modest appetite for the safety of government debt.
Treasury prices were mixed Friday after the Labor Department said employers cut 85,000 jobs in December and that the unemployment rate remained flat at 10 percent.
The government also said more people lost jobs in October than it had initially reported, but that in November employers added jobs for the first time in two years.
Analysts said the December numbers were disappointing but didn’t indicate that a gradual improvement in the labor market was ending.
The report generated uneven demand for safe-haven investments like Treasurys. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which is tied to interest rates on consumer loans, rose to 3.84 percent in late trading from 3.83 percent late Thursday. Its price slipped 2/32 to 96 7/32.
Meanwhile, the yield on the two-year Treasury fell to 0.99 percent from 1.03 percent as its price rose 3/32 to 100 1/32.
The yield on the 30-year bond rose to 4.72 percent from 4.69 percent and its price fell 15/32 to 94 15/32.
The yield on the three-month T-bill was unchanged at 0.04 percent, while its discount rate was 0.05 percent.