Not Reading Too Much Into Friday's Weakness

At first glance, with only one report on the calendar, it's only logical to give Consumer Sentiment credit for sparking today's bond market selling spree.  Closer inspection adds nuance.  First off, selling began in earnest at 8:20am--the unofficial opening bell for bond market trading and a time of day where inclined sellers/buyers are often lined up and waiting to trade accordingly. Then there's the fact that the post-data selling didn't begin until 6 minutes after the data--an odd eventuality given the tendency for reactions to be perfectly immediate. Last but not least, we can entertain several reasons that traders might be interested in moving to the sidelines ahead of next week's potential geopolitical developments and Fed announcement.