10-year Treasury yield holds below 4.5% after softer-than-expected U.S. jobs data

U.S. Treasury yields were lower Monday, continuing a fall after Friday’s April jobs report showed weaker-than-expected payrolls growth and an unexpected tick higher in unemployment.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury was off 2 basis points to 4.4975%. The 2-year Treasury yield was slightly lower to 4.8056%. Yields and prices move in opposite directions. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%.

U.S. payrolls rose by just 175,000 last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday, short of the Dow Jones estimate from economists of 240,000. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9%, against an estimate that called for it to hold steady at 3.8%. Wage growth was also less than expected, the report showed.

Uncertainty about how many rate cuts, if any, will take place this year and when they might begin has grown in recent weeks, with many investors now expecting fewer cuts and not until later in the year. Friday’s weak labor report could allow the Federal Reserve to move sooner to cut rates.

On the economic front Monday, Richmond Fed president Tom Barkin and New York Fed president John Williams are both scheduled to speak.

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Pia Singh contributed to this report.