Nov. 9 2009
By Howard Packowitz
CHICAGO (Dow Jones)–U.S. interest-rate futures traders found no reason on Monday to divert from last week’s trend of higher prices and lower anticipated yields, particularly for contracts tied to shorter maturities.
Rate futures contracts posted modest price gains to begin the week as Friday’s dismal monthly employment report "just confirms that the [Federal Reserve] isn’t going to be tightening anytime soon," said Mike Larson, interest rate and real estate analyst at Weiss Research.
Friday’s report from the U.S. Labor Department showed October’s unemployment rate soaring to 10.2%, the highest in 26 years. The same data also revealed that the economy lost 190,000 jobs during October, slightly more than expected, but an improvement from much sharper job losses earlier this year.
The employment report came two days after the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee announced it was holding the key short-term federal-funds rate at a record low range of 0% to 0.25%, where it has stood since December 2008.
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