2019.10.1719:20:00UTC+00Treasuries Close Roughly Flat Following Choppy Trading Day

Treasuries showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Thursday before ending the day roughly flat.

Bond prices spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 1.757 percent.

The choppy trading on the day came as traders weighed new that U.K. and European Union negotiators have reached a last-minute Brexit deal against weaker than expected U.S. economic data.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker described the deal as "fair and balanced" for the EU and the U.K. and urged member nations to back the agreement.

The deal could eliminate some of the Brexit uncertainty hanging over the global markets, although it remains to be seen if the agreement will be approved by U.K. lawmakers.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve released a report showing a bigger than expected decrease in industrial production, with the strike at General Motors (GM) contributing to a drop in manufacturing output.

The Fed said industrial production fell by 0.4 percent in September after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.8 percent in August.

Economists had expected production to edge down by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.6 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed a sharp pullback in housing starts in the month of September.

The Commerce Department said housing starts plunged by 9.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.256 million in September after soaring by 15.1 percent to a revised 1.386 million in August.

Economists had expected housing starts to drop by 3.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.320 million from the 1.364 million originally reported for the previous month.

The report said building permits also slumped by 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.387 million in September after jumping by 8.2 percent to a revised 1.425 million in August.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to tumble by 4.9 percent to a rate of 1.350 million from the 1.419 million originally reported for the previous month.

A report on leading U.S. economic indicators may attract attention on Friday along with remarks by several Federal Reserve officials.