Treasury bonds

A closely watched auction of 30-year Treasuries saw stronger-than-expected demand on Thursday, easing for now worries that investors would shun the US government's longest maturity.

The Treasury is set to sell $22 billion of 30-year government bonds on Thursday. The results will receive special attention because they will offer an instant readout on the scope of market demand at a time when investor appetite for 30-year US debt has soured. 

Treasuries slumped after stronger-than-expected US job and wage growth prompted traders to trim bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year. 

Two- to 10-year yields reached the lowest levels since at least May 9 after the ISM Services gauge for last month signaled contraction for the first time since last June.

The Treasury market experienced unexpected volatility in April after President Trump announced sweeping tariffs, but recovered after the moves were delayed. Some see that as proof of resilience in the market, but others say it highlights vulnerabilities.

The yield on 10-year benchmark Treasuries was up about three basis points following Wednesday's sale, after earlier climbing more than five basis points. 

Bond yields are shooting up for the second time in as many months. Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller attributes the volatility to concerns about rising national debt levels.

US corporations with over a trillion in assets snapped up an unprecedented amount of short-term Treasuries when President Donald Trump announced a 90-day delay for most of his "Liberation Day" tariffs, according to Clearwater Analytics.

The "Sell America" trade that gripped markets this month has left a potentially lasting dent in investors' willingness to hold the US government's longest-maturity debt, a mainstay of its deficit-financing toolkit.

Long-maturity Treasury yields tumbled Wednesday as part of a broader rally in dollar-denominated risk assets, after US President Donald Trump said he wasn't inclined to fire the head of the Federal Reserve and suggested tariffs on Chinese imports could drop.