U.S. government debt prices were slightly higher Thursday morning, as investors awaited high-level trade talks between the world’s two largest economies.U.S. Markets Overview: Treasurys chartAt around 03:20 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, was lower at around 1.5802%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also lower at around 2.0841%.Market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments after a media report suggested U.S.-China trade talks could be cut short.High-level negotiators from the U.S. and China are poised to meet for a fresh round of talks in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.A report from the South China Morning Post on Thursday said that Beijing’s Vice Premier Liu He could leave Washington on Thursday, rather than Friday as initially scheduled.”We are not aware of a change in the Vice Premier’s travel plans at this time,” a White House spokesperson told CNBC in response to the South China Morning Post’s report. A senior administration official told CNBC’s Kayla Tausche that Liu is still scheduled to depart Friday evening, and dinner is on for the delegation Thursday evening in DC.Bloomberg News also reported overnight that the U.S was considering an agreement to suspend next week’s tariff increase in exchange for a currency pact.On the data front, the latest weekly jobless claims figures and consumer price index (CPI) data for September will be released at around 8:30 a.m. ET. The full-year 2019 federal budget will be released slightly later in the session.The U.S. Treasury is set to auction $50 billion in 4-week bills, $40 billion in 8-week bills and $16 billion in 29-year and 10-month bonds on Thursday.— CNBC’s Fred Imbert & John Melloy contributed to this report.
