NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Treasury prices improved on Thursday, pushing short-term yields lower, after the Labor Department said the number of initial claims in the latest week fell 8,000 to 470,000. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for claims to drop below 450,000. A separate report said orders for durable goods rose 0.3% last month, much less than forecast. Yields on 2-year notes (UST2YR 0.91, 0.00, 0.00%) fell 2 basis points to 0.90%, from nearly flat before the data. Longer-term Treasurys were pressured as equities gained after President Obama's State of the Union address included job-creation measures.
