Treasuries Remain Lower as Labor Costs Rise More Than Forecast
June 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. 10-year Treasuries remained lower after a government report showed labor costs in the first quarter rose more than forecast.
The Labor Department report may damp speculation that the Federal Reserve is closer to ending a series of interest-rate increases to fight inflation. Declines were limited as a separate report showed first time jobless claims rose.
``The continued increase in unit labor costs means that the current level of interest rates do not reflect inflation,'' said Amitabh Arora, chief interest-rate strategist at Lehman Brothers Inc. in New York.
The benchmark 4 1/8 percent note due in May 2015 decreased about 1/8, or $1.25 per $1,000 face amount, to 101 3/4 as of 8:41 a.m. in New York, according to bond broker Cantor Fitzgerald LP. The yield increased 2 basis points to 3.91 percent. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
Productivity of U.S. workers rose at 2.9 percent pace in the first quarter, and labor costs increased 3.3 percent. A reading of 3 percent for productivity and 2.2 percent for labor costs was expected, based on Bloomberg surveys.
Weekly initial jobless claims rose to 350,000 from 325,000. A reading of 325,000 was expected, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Bond Rally
Ten-year notes had the biggest two-day advance since December after business and manufacturing indexes this week fell more than forecast. Recent gains reflect a slowdown in global growth, said Bill Gross, who manages the world's biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co.
``There is no value at all in yields at these levels,'' said Cyril Beuzit, head of fixed-income strategy at BNP Paribas SA in London. ``With inflation creeping higher there is still room for the Fed to deliver further rate increases.''
A technical chart that traders use to predict price changes is suggesting that the rally in 10-year notes may end. The note's 10-day relative strength index, a gauge of momentum, rose to 80 yesterday. A level of 70 or above suggests the note's price may be poised to drop. The index was 75 today.
``We're getting close to the bottom here'' on the 10-year yield, said Sharon Lee Stark, chief fixed-income strategist at Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. in Baltimore. Investors may sell 10- year notes as yields approach 3.80 percent, she said.
Fed Target
The Fed has raised the interest-rate target for overnight loans between banks in quarter-point increments eight times since June, most recently on May 3 to 3 percent. Interest rate futures suggest the central bank may only raise the target rate two more times this year.
``The latest rally has been partly a capitulation'' by traders who expected higher rates, said Dominic Konstam, head of interest-rate research at Credit Suisse First Boston in New York.
The National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago on May 31 said its Business Barometer fell to 54.1 for May, the lowest in almost two years, from 65.6 the previous month. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected a reading of 61.4.
The Institute for Supply Management yesterday said its manufacturing index dropped to 51.4 for May from 53.3 in April. Economists expected 52.1. The ISM's prices paid and employment indexes also fell.
Resume Advance
A Labor Department report tomorrow will show employers added fewer workers to their payrolls last month than in April. The economy probably created 175,000 jobs in May, compared with 274,000 the month before, according to a separate Bloomberg survey of 70 economists.
``We've been anticipating a bond market rally so we're doing very well,'' said Pacific Investment's Gross, a managing director. ``Given the slower growth numbers we're seeing in terms of the employment indices and production indices, I would think very shortly that Greenspan would begin to signal the Fed's journey toward higher interest rates is about to end.''
Futures traders have reduced bets on the amount of Fed rate increases by year-end. December Eurodollar futures fell to 3.77 percent today, from 3.92 percent at the beginning of the week.
The futures contract settles at a three-month lending rate that has averaged 21 basis points above the Fed's target over the past decade, suggesting traders expect another 50-basis point increase in rates this year. As recently as March 31, traders were pricing in a 4 percent rate by the end of 2005.
``Money will continue to flow into Treasuries because of concern over the economy and as the market prices in the view that the Fed will hike only one or two more times,'' said Hiroyuki Yamada, who helps oversee the equivalent of about $1.29 billion at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo. ``I'm not selling Treasuries yet because yields are going to fall some more.''