U.S. Treasury yields continued to plummet on Friday as investors digested the aftermath of U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive “reciprocal tariff” policy rollout.
At 5:07 a.m. ET, the 10-year Treasury yield dropped over 10 basis points to 3.947%, falling to the lowest level since October. The 2-year Treasury yield shed over 8 basis points to trade at 3.641%.
One basis point equals 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Investors are digesting the global impact of Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” over the past few days, after it was signed into effect on Wednesday.
The plan, which set a 10% baseline tariff across the board, hit over 180 countries and hammered global markets. Investors are now wondering whether countries will be able to strike trade deals with the U.S. to reduce tariff rates after Trump said he is open to trade negotiations.
Investors will also be closely watching the nonfarm payrolls report, due to be published Friday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect nonfarm payrolls to rise by 140,000 jobs and the unemployment rate to hold steady at 4.1%. The report will offer an insight into the health of the U.S. economy amid fears of slowing growth.
“Indeed, with recession fears mounting, a weaker-than-expected print could be a nail in the coffin for the U.S. economy,” said Julien Lafargue, chief market strategist at Barclays Private Bank. “Unfortunately, a more encouraging reading could easily be dismissed as being ‘outdated’ given the prospect of significant tariffs hitting the US job market.”
