US Treasury yields slip after data indicates tame inflation

(CNBC) U.S. government debt yields held at session lows Thursday after the U.S. government reported that producer prices rose less than expected in July, one possible sign of anemic inflation in the economy.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was 3 basis points lower at around 2.939 percent at 9:28 a.m. ET, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also lower at 3.095 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

The U.S. Labor Department said Thursday that its U.S. producer price index was unchanged in July, falling short of a 0.2 percent increase expected by economists polled by Reuters. The producer price index minus volatile food, energy and trade components, rose 0.3 percent after a similar gain in June. 

In the 12 months through July, the core PPI increased 2.8 percent after rising 2.7 percent in June. The lackluster reading comes as the economy reaches full employment and strong growth; individual reads on inflation are expected to rise as the Trump administration's tariffs on lumber, steel, aluminum and Chinese goods start to influence price pressures.