At around 2:00 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, was sharply lower at 0.5830% while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was down at 1.2112%.
Risk aversion from investors amid the deepening coronavirus crisis continued to plague Wall Street on Wednesday, sending the Dow 4.4% lower.
U.S. jobs data will be in focus Thursday, with last week’s initial jobless claims due for publication at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The figure is expected to be significant, with economists expecting that between 4 million and 5 million workers filed jobless claims last week, with many more anticipated as lockdowns continue to take their toll.
Four new states announced lockdown guidance on Wednesday, meaning more than 80% of Americans have now been directed to stay in their homes, according to Reuters, as the number of deaths and cases surged to new daily highs for a fourth consecutive day.
More than 216,000 cases have now been confirmed in the U.S. as of Thursday morning, with more than 5,000 deaths.
In terms of other economic data, balance of trade and import/export figures are also due at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Auctions will be held Thursday for $80 billion of 4-week Treasury bills, $60 billion of 8-week bills, and $40 billion each of 154-day and 102-day bills.