What Could Finally Bring U.S. Treasury Yields Down

U.S. government bond prices have been falling, which means their yields have been rising.

This week, worries about France, the Iran conflict and weaker U.S. jobs data briefly pushed yields down.

But that improvement did not last, and yields rose again by Friday afternoon.

The unemployment rate increased slightly, but not enough to convince investors that the economy is weakening sharply.

Analysts say a much bigger rise in unemployment or a large shortfall in new jobs might help bring yields down.

Investors might also buy more U.S. bonds if they move money away from French bonds.

Lower U.S. government borrowing and an end to the Iran war could also help, but those changes would take major policy decisions.

For now, the forces pushing yields higher remain in place.