Treasury yields jump on drop in jobless claims

Treasury prices fell Thursday, sending interest rates higher, after encouraging news on the jobs market led investors into riskier assets.

Interest rates were also being pushed higher because of a $13 billion auction in 30-year Treasury bonds that drew a yield that was above those already trading in the market.

The yield on the 30-year bond rose to 3.84 percent, compared with 3.73 percent late Wednesday. Its yield was around 3.79 percent just before the auction results were announced.

The price on the 30-year bond that matures in August 2040 fell $1.81 to $100.65.

Investors continued their move back into stocks after the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, more than economists anticipated.

The yield on the 10-year note rose to 2.76 percent from 2.66 percent. That yield helps set interest rates on mortgages and other loans. The price of the note that matures in August 2020 fell 84 cents to $98.81.

Bond yields have been inching higher in early September as news about the economy gradually improves, but they remain very low by historic standards. The government sold $21 billion in 10-year notes Wednesday at the lowest interest rate since January 2009, at the height of the financial crisis.

In other trading, the yield on the two-year note rose to 0.57 percent from 0.52 percent. Its price fell 6.25 cents to $99.625.

The yield on the three-month T-bill was 0.13 percent. Its discount was 0.14 percent.