U.S. bond prices began to slow on Thursday, following a week of dramatic increases, with the benchmark 10-year note retreating to 2.197 percent after hitting highs above 2.3 percent earlier this week. Japanese government bonds also fell on Thursday after the Bank of Japan held a special fixed-rate bond buying operation for the first time in a public attempt to warn against excessive yield moves. Japan’s 10-year yield was 0.015 percent, down from a 9-month high of 0.035 percent on Wednesday. Bank of Japan’s Governor Haruhiko Koroda voiced his opinion that he will not feel obligated to accept gains in JGB yields just because U.S. Treasury yields are rising.
Crude oil prices also fell on Thursday following reports that showed a larger than expected inventory of U.S. oil stocks. U.S crude inventories rose by 5.3 million barrels in the week of November 11, roughly four times expectations. The inventory increase was largely due to higher imports. U.S. benchmark WTI crude lost 10 cents per barrel, falling 0.22 percent to $45.47.
The dollar traded flat during Thursday’s Asian session. After hitting a five-month high overnight, the greenback fell to 109.060 yen. The euro was up 0.1 percent to $1.0702 after falling to eleven-year lows overnight. Gold was up slightly due to the dollar’s consolidation, hitting $1226.10 per ounce, though it is still down nearly $100 per ounce since last Wednesday’s post-election fallout.