U.S. Treasury yields ticked higher on Thursday as investors weighed fresh tariffs on foreign automakers and assessed the broader state of the U.S. economy.
At 4:51 a.m. ET, the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield rose more than 2 basis points to 4.367%. The 2-year Treasury yield was up less than a basis point to 4.014%.
One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%. Yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Investors are digesting the latest tariff announcements, with U.S. President Donald Trump imposing new 25% duties on “all cars that are not made in the United States” on Wednesday.
The tariffs, which will take effect on April 2, will not affect cars built in the United States. The President specified that if the car parts are made in the U.S. and the car itself isn’t, it won’t be “taxed or tariffed.”
The news adds to broader concerns about how retaliatory tariffs are affecting the U.S. economy, which is showing signs of weakness and slowing growth. Consumer confidence in where the economy is headed, for example, hit a 12-year low, according to the latest figures on Tuesday.
Investors are awaiting a series of economic data, including the gross domestic product growth rate, which will be published at 8:30 a.m. ET by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and will show how much the U.S. economy has expanded. Weekly initial jobless claims and pending home sales are also out on Thursday.
The personal consumption expenditures index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge — will be published on Friday and is hotly anticipated as it will offer clues to the health of the economy.