2019.04.1815:20:00UTC+00Treasuries Move To The Upside Ahead Of Easter Weekend

After ending the previous session roughly flat, treasuries showed a notable move to the upside during trading on Thursday.

Bond prices moved higher early in the session before moving roughly sideways thereafter. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 3.2 basis points to 2.560 percent.

The strength among treasuries came after a Commerce Department report showed a jump in retail sales in March but analysts continued to forecast a slowdown in GDP growth in the first quarter.

The Commerce Department said retail sales soared by 1.6 percent in March after edging down by 0.2 percent in February. Economists had expected retail sales to climb by 0.9 percent.

Excluding a jump in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales still surged up by 1.2 percent in March following a revised 0.2 percent dip in February.

Ex-auto sales had been expected to increase by 0.7 percent compared to the 0.4 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.

The report said closely watched core retail sales, which exclude autos, gasoline, building materials and food services, also jumped by 1.0 percent in March after falling by 0.3 percent in February.

"Overall, the retail sales figures add to the slightly more positive tone of the recent data and provide some comfort that the economy isn't falling off a cliff," said Andrew Hunter, Senior U.S. Economist at Capital Economics.

He added, "But they don't change our view that the fading of the fiscal boost and the lagged impact of the Fed's monetary tightening will push GDP growth below its 2% potential pace over the coming quarters."

A separate report from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended April 13th, falling to a nearly 50-year low.

The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 192,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level of 197,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 205,000.

With the unexpected decrease, initial jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since hitting 182,000 in September of 1969.

Following the long holiday weekend, next week's trading may be impacted by reaction to reports on new and existing home sales, durable goods orders and first quarter GDP.

Bond traders are also likely to keep an eye on the results of the Treasury Department's auctions of two-year, five-year, and seven-year notes.

The Treasury plans to sell $40 billion worth of two-year notes next Tuesday, $41 billion worth of five-year notes next Wednesday and $32 billion worth of seven-year notes next Thursday.