U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Friday as investors welcomed news that China was considering the possibility of trade negotiations with the U.S.
At 4:24 a.m. ET, the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield fell about 2 basis points to 4.208%. The 2-year Treasury yield note was down under a basis point to 3.698%.
One basis point is equivalent to 0.01% and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Investors were cheered on Friday as China said it is evaluating the possibility of starting trade talks with the U.S., according to a statement from its commerce ministry.
It said senior U.S. officials reached out “through relevant parties multiple times,” hoping to start tariff negotiations. Chinese authorities reiterated Beijing’s request for the U.S. to remove all unilateral tariffs, saying a failure to do so would “further compromise mutual trust” between the two countries.
“If the U.S. wants to talk, it should show its sincerity and be prepared to correct its wrong practices and cancel the unilateral tariffs,” the statement said.
U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods currently stand at 145%, with China slapping 125% retaliatory levies on the U.S. in return.
Investors are also awaiting April’s jobs report on Friday, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, which will offer much-needed insights into the health of the U.S. economy. Economists polled by Dow Jones are forecasting that payrolls grew by 133,000 last month, a drop from the 228,000 added in March. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 4.2%.
Investors will now look ahead to the Federal Reserve’s May 6-7 meeting, where they will decide on interest rate cuts. Traders are largely expecting the Fed to hold rates steady, according to the CME Group FedWatch Tool.
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.
