Treasurys advanced Friday, pushing yields lower, after the worst quarterly contraction in the U.S. economy since 1982 sent investors seeking the safety of government debt.
Yields on two-year notes (UST2YR), which move inversely to the price, fell 3 basis points to 0.93%. A basis point is 0.01%.
Ten-year note yields (UST10Y) declined 2 basis points to 2.84%.
The fourth quarter's 3.8% annualized decline in gross domestic product would have been worse except the government counts an unwanted buildup of goods in stores as growth, even if no one is buying it.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected GDP to contract 5.5% in the three months ended in December.
"This is nothing to get excited about," said Kevin Flanagan, fixed-income strategist at Morgan Stanley Global Wealth Management. "This will serve as a drag in the first quarter. You can't dismiss the facts of where the economy is and that's going to cap rates."
The report's inflation measure excluding food and energy, closely watched by the Federal Reserve, rose 0.6% in the quarter.
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