US Treasury yields on Thursday recorded their biggest one-day decline since early November, reflecting renewed demand for government debt after sustained sales in the first quarter.
Yields on the standard 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 1.531 percent, according to Tradeweb, up from 1.637 percent on Wednesday.
Yields, which fall as bond prices rise, rose lower overnight before falling sharply at the start of U.S. trading, continuing their move for much of the session. This was despite a strong retail sales report that could normally be expected to increase yields as it tends to rise as the economic outlook improves.
However, debt investors have picked up good economic data over the past few days, just as they have ignored poor winter data. Instead, higher returns attracted buyers, apparently helped by technical factors such as the renewed demand from Japanese investors.
According to investors and analysts, banks and insurers in Japan contributed to a wave of global sales in February by trying to finalize their investment returns for the fiscal year ending March 31. There is evidence that they are buying again. , with new government data showing that Japanese investors bought the equivalent of $ 15.6 billion in overseas bonds last week, the most since November.