Treasury yields slide after the last major auction of the year

U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Thursday in holiday-thinned trading, while the last major auction of the year saw solid demand.

At about 1:45 p.m. ET the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, was lower at 1.896%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond also fell at 2.328%.

The Treasury Department auctioned $32 billion of 7-year notes, both the last major event for U.S. government bonds this week as well as the last auction of 2019. This month’s 7-year note auction saw the strongest demand since September, with an improved bid-to-cover from last month.

Earlier yields pared gains after the Labor Department said U.S. jobless claims fell 13,000 to 222,000 in the week ending Dec. 21. The number was slightly higher than the 220,000 expected.

Investors have been taking on more risk, ditching bonds as U.S. stocks rally into the end of the year. The benchmark 10-year yields have bounced back this month, climbing about 25 basis points since the beginning of December.