Treasury yields are little changed as investors digest economic data, Trump-Powell fight

U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Thursday after key economic data releases, while traders kept an eye on Washington after President Donald Trump's denial of plans to imminently fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The 10-year Treasury yield was down 2 basis points at 4.433%. The 2-year yield was flat at 3.89%. The 30-year note dropped 3 basis points, yielding 5.018%.

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

Data released Thursday signaled good news for the U.S. economy. Jobless claims for the week ending July 12 came out at 221,000, marking a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week, according to a report from the Department of Labor.

Retail sales also rose more than expected in June, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Retail sales were up 0.6% in the previous month from May, beating the 0.2% estimate from the Dow Jones consensus.

Investors continue to monitor the Trump-Powell situation after Trump on Wednesday denied plans to fire the central bank leader, despite saying he would do so earlier in the day.

“We're not planning on doing it,” he said at the White House. “I don't rule out anything ... but I think it's highly unlikely, unless he has to leave for fraud.”

That was hours after Trump had a meeting in the Oval Office, where he asked a group of House Republicans if they thought he should fire Powell. On receiving support for the move, Trump said he would follow through, per a senior White House official.

“We had a brief glimpse of the likely market reaction as investors started to view Powell's removal as a serious prospect. Notably, there was a huge steepening in the yield curve as investors ramped up the prospect of a near-term rate cut,” Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note. “Ultimately, the bulk of those moves unwound after Trump's comments.”