Bond Market Update

Data Recon

• March Empire Manufacturing (Actual -0.2; Briefing.com consensus 0.5; prior 7.1)
• Industrial production increased 0.2% month-over-month in February (Briefing.com consensus: 0.4%) following an unrevised 0.7% increase in January. The capacity utilization rate was 76.3% (Briefing.com consensus: 76.0%), unchanged from an upwardly revised 76.3% (from 76.2%) in January.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that it marked the fourth straight monthly increase in industrial production, although that streak masks some otherwise tepid output. At 102.6 percent of its 2017 average, total industrial production was just 1.4% above its year-earlier level.
• Yield check:
  • 2-yr: -5 bps to 3.68%
  • 3-yr: -6 bps to 3.69%
  • 5-yr: -6 bps to 3.81%
  • 10-yr: -6 bps to 4.23%
  • 30-yr: -5 bps to 4.86%