U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Friday as investors weighed U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy reversal and remained optimistic about a possible trade deal between the U.S. and China.
At 4:45 a.m. ET, the 10-year Treasury yield was down less than a basis point at 4.297%, while the 2-year Treasury yield was up just over one basis point at 3.807%.
One basis point equals 0.01% and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Investors are coming off a week of Trump backtracking on comments and policies, with the White House leader indicating earlier this week an easing of trade tensions between the U.S. and China. U.S. tariffs on China are currently at 145%.
Trump said on Tuesday that the tariff rate will “come down substantially. But it won’t be zero.” And while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “there is an opportunity for a big deal here” on trade between the two countries, China said on Thursday that there were no ongoing trade discussions until the U.S. drops all tariff measures.
On top of that, Trump called Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell a “major loser” on Monday, applying pressure in recent weeks to get the central bank leader to lower interest rates. That has led to concerns that Trump may fire Powell, which could be a major disruption to markets.
However, Trump clarified earlier this week that he has “no intention” of firing Powell, offering some relief to markets.
Investors will now await the Michigan Consumer Sentiment data for April, due out at 10:00 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the reading to remain unchanged from the previous month at 50.8.
