The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit 1.51% early on Friday, ahead of key inflation data due out later in the morning.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note added 2 basis points, rising to 1.5145% at 3:50 a.m. ET. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond climbed by 1 basis point to 1.8811%. Yields move inversely to prices and 1 basis point is equal to 0.01%.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is due to release the November consumer price index at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday.
Economists are expecting the index to have climbed 0.7% on the previous month, according to Dow Jones estimates. That would represent a 6.7% increase in inflation year-on-year, which would be the highest reading for headline CPI in nearly 40 years.
On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that 184,000 initial jobless claims were filed last week, well below the 211,000 forecast by economists and the lowest reading since 1969.
Both these sets of data are important, particularly inflation, with the Federal Reserve due to hold a monetary policy meeting next week. The Fed is expected to announce that it will speed up the tapering of its asset purchasing program.
In terms of other data due out on Friday, the University of Michigan is set to release its preliminary December consumer sentiment findings at 10 a.m. ET.
There are no auctions scheduled to be held on Friday.
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed to this market report.