Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Dec. 30, 2025 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield was slightly higher on Wednesday, yet was set to end 2025 lower amid Federal Reserve rate cuts and sticky-but-trending-lower inflation.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose less than 1 basis point to 4.136%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury was also last seen less than 1 basis point higher at 3.459%.
Yields and prices move in opposite directions. One basis point equals 0.01%.
Yields reversed course and moved higher after initial jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 27 came in at 199,000, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. That’s down 16,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised level of 215,000 and below the 220,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated.
“The filings for first-time jobless benefits are volatile during the holidays and adverse winter weather in many years, but the lack or any material weakness in the jobs market is striking in that there is no sign the economy is anywhere near the shores of recession,” said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS.
“The labor market strength with low-firing definitely, low-hiring maybe, is likely to carry forward into 2026 because so far, the Trump economic agenda with its radical changes to trade and immigration policy, along with the firing of thousands of Federal government workers, has not sent the economy off the rails as many economists forecast,” he added.
The swing upward in yields following the report captures what has been another choppy year for the bond market, spurred by factors such as uncertainty surrounding the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path.
10-year Treasury, year-to-date
