TREASURIES-Steady to firmer in Asia

Fri Nov 13, 2009 4:25am GMT
[-] Text [+]

TOKYO, Nov 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasuries were steady to firmer in Asia on Friday, holding gains made the previous day with falls in some regional stock markets providing mild support to safe-haven debt.

* T-note futures edged up 2/32 to 118-31.5/32 TYv1 but activity remained subdued. The benchmark 10-year notes rose 2/32 in price to yield 3.438 percent US10YT=RR, down a basis point from late U.S. trade on Thursday.

* The 30-year bonds rose 13/32 in price to yield 4.386 percent US30YT=RR while the two-year notes were little changed in price to yield 0.819 percent US2YT=RR.

* With a record $81 billion in note auctions this week behind it, the market will refocus on economic data.

* Market players will watch closely to Friday's Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary November consumer sentiment report due at 1455 GMT. The data is expected to provide a sense of the consumer mood before the holiday shopping season.

* A weaker than expected reading could dampen hopes for business activity at the end of the year and lift bond prices, analysts said.

* But yields of shorter maturities may have fallen far enough for now as two-year yields neared the 0.8 percent mark, other analysts said. Yields of shorter notes have fallen steadily for a week on expectations that the Federal Reserve will stick to its near-zero rate policy.

* On Friday, the government will release data on the U.S. trade gap and import/export prices, though those figures are expected to have little impact on bond prices. (Reporting by Satomi Noguchi; Editing by Michael Watson)

 
 
by Name by Symbol