FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Prices fell somewhat on Friday. By the afternoon, the benchmark Euro-Bund futures contract fell 0.24 percent to 131.04 points. The yield for ten-year federal bonds rose in return to 2.63 percent. This is the highest level since the beginning of March.

The U.S. labor market report published in the afternoon and rather weak supported the bonds only briefly. Non-farm payrolls added 209,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department. Economists had expected 230,000 jobs. However, the unemployment rate fell a bit and hourly wages rose a bit more than expected. "Even though the labor market is cooling, it still probably remains too strong from the Fed's perspective," economists at Commerzbank commented. "As a result, the Fed is likely to raise key interest rates again this month."

Economic data from Germany was mixed in the morning. German industry slightly reduced its output in May. Compared with the previous month, total production fell by 0.2 percent. The main negative factor in May was energy production, which fell by 7.0 percent. By contrast, the production of industrial goods increased slightly./jsl/he