BLBG: U.S. Treasuries Gain as GDP Shrinks Most Since 2001 Recession
By Daniel Kruger
Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Treasuries gained after a report showed the U.S. economy shrank in the third quarter faster than previously estimated as consumer spending plunged by the most in almost three decades.
Yields on U.S. securities fell for the first time in three days as the Commerce Department said gross domestic product contracted at a 0.5 percent annual pace from July through September, the most since the 2001 recession. Another report is forecast to show consumer confidence stayed at a record low.
Yields on the 10-year note tumbled 16 basis points, or 0.16 percentage point, to 3.17 percent at 8:39 a.m. in New York, according to BGCantor Market Data. The 3.75 percent security due November 2018 gained 1 13/32, or $14.06 per $1,000 face amount, to 104 31/32. The yield dropped to 2.99 percent on Nov. 20, the lowest since records started in 1962.
The five-year note’s yield fell 8 basis points to 2.11 percent.
The Federal Reserve said it will purchase as much as $600 billion in debt issued or backed by government-chartered housing-finance companies and set up a $200 billion program to support consumer and small-business loans, the Fed said in a statement today in Washington.
To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Kruger in London at dkruger1@bloomberg.net