U.S. stocks ended the week relatively flat, with the S&P 500 up 0.1% and the Dow down 0.1% for the week. Foreign markets outpaced domestic markets, with the FTSE All World Ex US up 1% for the week. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 2.38% from 2.49% the week prior. US crude ended the week at $99.38 per barrel down from $113.90 the week prior.
The U.S. labor market strengthened as employers added 431,000 jobs in March, slightly below the estimated 490,000. February totals were revised up to 750,000 from 678,000. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6% down from 3.8% a month earlier.
For the first time since 2019, the yield on the two-year Treasury closed above the yield of the 10-year Treasury.
Rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 4.67%, the highest since December 2018.
The US plans to tap as much as 180 million barrels of oil reserves to help bring down high fuel prices.
The eurozone’s headline inflation rate hit 7.5% in March, another record high, as the war in Ukraine pushed energy and food prices higher.