Yields drop on data

Prices on US Treasury bonds were higher Wednesday, sending yields lower, after new data on home sales and labor that brought up questions about how the recent problems in credit markets are affecting the wider economy.

While the National Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales were down 12.2 percent in July, a new jobs survey by Automated Data Processing Inc estimated that only 38,000 jobs were created in August and a separate report Hudson Highland Group showed its employment index down by 6.6 points last month.

The worries persisted even though the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report said that the only part of the wider economy that volatility in the markets is affecting is the housing sector.

Two-year Treasury bonds saw yields fall from 4.12 percent late Tuesday to 4.02 percent, while ten-year yields dropped to 4.47 percent from Tuesday’s 4.84 percent.

Meanwhile, thirty-year issues yielded 4.78 percent, down from Tuesday’s 4.84 percent.

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