Treasury Yields Fluctuate

Published May 9, 2025

U.S. Treasury yields varied throughout the week as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s policy update on interest rates. Yields trended higher at the end of the week as the latest jobs data showed a resilient labor market.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced its latest monetary policy decision following the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. At the meeting, policy makers agreed to hold the benchmark rate steady at a range of between 4.25% to 4.50%. Members signaled caution about a potential spike in inflation and are adopting a “wait-and-see” strategy.

“We are comfortable with our policy stance,” said Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell. “We think right now the appropriate thing to do is to wait and see how things evolve. There is so much uncertainty.”

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield opened the week of May 5 at 4.31% and traded as high as 4.40% on Thursday. The 30-year Treasury bond opened the week at 4.79% and traded as high as 4.86% on Thursday.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial claims for unemployment decreased by 13,000 to 228,000 for the week ending May 3. This came below economists’ expectations of 230,000. Continuing claims fell by 29,000 to 1.88 million.

“We believe firms have been ‘hoarding’ workers to ensure that they do not lay off skilled and trained workers by mistake, especially with the labor market still very close to full employment,” said chief economist at High Frequency Economics, Carl Weinberg. “With uncertainty still high, even after the GDP report, companies are still sitting on the fence about layoffs.”

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week of May 5 at 4.39% while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 4.84%.