investors await busy week of economic data

The 10-year Treasury yield was little changed to begin the week as investors looked ahead to a flurry of economic data, including the delayed January jobs report.

The benchmark yield was up less than 1 basis point at 4.212%, and the 30-year Treasury yield was more than 1 basis point higher at 4.867%. The 2-year Treasury note yield fell less than 1 basis point to 3.489%.

One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Investors are expecting a flurry of economic data this week, much of which was delayed due to the partial U.S. government shutdown. This includes the nonfarm payrolls report for January, which was initially scheduled for last Friday, but which the Bureau of Labor Statistics will now release on Wednesday morning.

The report is forecast to show a gain of 60,000 jobs for the month, after a 50,000 increase in December, per economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate is projected to hold steady at 4.4%.

The January consumer price index reading, also delayed by the shutdown, is due out on Friday morning. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones except that the annual inflation rate eased to 2.5%.

In addition to these reports, investors will await retail sales for December on Tuesday and weekly initial jobless claims on Thursday. There’s also a full menu of Federal Reserve speakers during the week, with Governors Christopher Waller and Stephen Miran on tap Monday.

The market also was watching news out of China, where authorities urged banks to pull back from the U.S. Treasury market on concerns of concentration risk and volatility, according to a Bloomberg News report. Mainland China holdings of Treasurys have dropped 11% over the past year to $682.6 billion.