Treasuries are on the front foot....>

US TSYS SUMMARY: Treasuries are on the front foot early Thursday, boosted by

negative economic developments in Europe.

- Some bull flattening in the cash curve: The 2-Yr yield is down 1.8bps at

2.3167%, 5-Yr is down 2.3bps at 2.3034%, 10-Yr is down 2.2bps at 2.5026%, and

30-Yr is down 1bps at 2.9235%.

- Futures are higher across the board, and just off intraday best levels. 10-Yr

futures (TY) up 3.5/32 at 123-19.5 (L: 123-13.5 / H: 123-21.5).

- Fairly light newsflow, punctuated by poor European economic headlines

including reports of lower German and Italian 2019 GDP growth forecasts, and

very weak German factory orders data.

- Some focus on Pres Trump's meeting with China Vice Premier Liu at 1630ET (2030

GMT) in the Oval Office, for signs that a trade deal may be nearing.

- Two FOMC members up at 1300ET: Cleveland's Mester and Philadelphia's Harker.

- US weekly jobless claims are the main data highlight (0830ET). Claims expected

to rise by 4,000 to 215,000 in the April 5 week after a decrease of 5,000 in the

previous week.