Treasuries snapped a decline from yesterday before reports in the U.S. that economists said will show initial claims for jobless benefits rose while the unemployment rate held at more than 8 percent. U.S. government securities due in 10 years and longer returned 9.5 percent in the past three months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies. The gain was the most among 144 debt indexes around the world after accounting for changes in bond prices and currencies, reflecting demand for the relative safety of U.S. debt due to slowing economic growth and Europe’s debt crisis. The European Central Bank is scheduled to meet today. “Treasury yields are likely to stay low, at least in the near term,� said Stuart Thomson, who helps oversee about $115 billion as a money manager at Ignis Asset Management in Glasgow. “There have been a number of economic false dawns. Despite some recovery, the underlying trend of the U.S. economy remains pretty weak.� Benchmark 10-year yields were little changed at 1.51 percent as of 9:30 a.m. in London, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. The price of the 1.75 percent security due in May 2022 was 102 1/32. Thirty-year bond yields dropped one basis point to 2.59 percent. The rate increased six basis points, or 0.06 percentage point, yesterday. It has climbed from the record low of 1.38 percent set July 25. The German 10-year bond yield was little changed at 1.37 percent. It dropped to a record 1.127 percent on June 1. Germany retained a stable outlook for its top credit score at Standard & Poor’s, the ratings company announced today, just over a week after Moody’s Investors Service warned that the nation’s Aaa grade was at risk. ‘Rising Uncertainty’ Moody’s on July 23 lowered the outlook for the credit ratings of Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to negative, citing “rising uncertainty� over Europe’s debt woes. Demand for German debt as a haven pushed yields on two-year bunds down to negative 0.08 percent yesterday. Investors require 31 basis points of additional yield to buy same-maturity Treasuries, the biggest difference in two years. The U.S. economy added probably 100,000 workers in July, following a gain of 80,000 in June, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News ahead of a Labor Department report tomorrow. The unemployment rate is likely to remain at 8.2 percent, according to economists. It has been more than 8 percent since February 2009. A report from ADP Employer Services yesterday showed the nation added more jobs last month than economists expected. ‘Remaining Ammunition’ U.S. weekly claims for jobless benefits rose to 370,000 from 353,000, based on responses from economists, before the Labor Department issues the figure today. A separate report may show growth in factory orders slowed. Treasuries fell yesterday after the Federal Reserve refrained from boosting monetary stimulus while indicating a sluggish economy may prompt further steps to spur growth. “They’re saving their limited remaining ammunition for a time when there’s more stress,� said Daniel Dektar, the chief investment officer at Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based Smith Breeden Associates, which oversees $6.5 billion. The Fed bought $2.3 trillion of mortgage and Treasury debt from 2008 to 2011 in two rounds of so-called quantitative easing to cap borrowing costs. It is now in the process of swapping shorter-term Treasuries in its holdings with those maturing in six to 30 years to put downward pressure on long-term borrowing costs. Draghi Pledge The central bank is scheduled to buy as much a $2 billion of Treasuries due from February 2036 to May 2042 today as part of the plan, according to the Fed Bank of New York website. There is a “significant chance� the Fed will implement a third round of quantitative easing at its September meeting as the economic data weaken, according to a report yesterday by Michael S. Hanson, U.S. economist at Bank of America Corp. in New York, and other economists and strategists at the company. The ECB meets after President Mario Draghi pledged July 26 to do “whatever it takes to preserve the euro,� raising speculation the bank will buy bonds issued by nations in the region. “If the bank takes strong action, then Treasury yields will go up,� said Chungkeun Oh, who invests in bonds in the biggest markets for Industrial Bank of Korea (024110), South Korea’s largest lender to small- and medium-sized companies. “Demand for safe-haven assets is going to diminish.� Oh said he’s not convinced that will happen, and last week he unwound positions that would have benefited from rising rates. The Bank of England, which is also meeting today, will probably maintain the bond-purchase program it began this month, economists said. To contact the reporters on this story: Anchalee Worrachate in London at aworrachate@bloomberg.net; To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net.

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