Treasury yields fall as markets await key jobs report

U.S. Treasury yields fell on Tuesday as investors prepared for a batch of key economic releases, including the November nonfarm payrolls report, unemployment numbers, and October retail sales.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield declined around 1 basis point to 4.168%. The 2-year Treasury yield also fell over one basis point to 3.497%, while the 30-year Treasury bond yield slid less than a basis point to 4.846.

One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%, and yields share an inverse relationship with prices.

Nonfarm payrolls for November are expected to come in at 50,000, according to economists polled by Reuters, a sharp fall from the 119,000 reported in October.

“Significant uncertainties remain around the U.S. policy rate, from a potentially lagged tariff pass-through to inflation to a possible uptick in unemployment and the choice of the next Fed chair,” Eastspring Investments wrote in a daily note.

November’s unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 4.4%, according to Reuters’ poll. Retail sales for October are forecast to come in at 0.1%, compared to 0.2% in September.

Another key event this week is the release of the November Consumer Price Index report on Thursday, which is expected to show that overall inflation rose to 3.1% year-over-year. Additionally, Thursday will bring weekly jobless claims data.