US Treasury debt prices rose slightly on Thursday as some buyers returned to the market following the end of this week's $66 billion in new supply, while hesitation ahead of Friday's US retail sales data limited gains. The Treasury sold $16 billion in 30-year bonds, the last leg of this week's new supply. Demand was soft, with the bid-to-cover ratio, a measure of overall bidding, coming in at 2.29. That was the lowest level since May.
"Once the 30-year auction was done, the market breathed a sigh of relief and you got some buying," said Lou Brien, strategist at DRW Trading in Chicago. The moderate-to-soft demand at this week's auctions led traders to buy Treasuries at slightly cheaper prices after the final 30-year bond sale Thursday, analysts said. Anticipation of the retail sales data kept traders from taking larger bullish positions, however. Economists polled by Reuters expect a 0.2 percent rise in retail sales in October, up from a 0.3 percent decline in September.
The retail sales data will be closely-watched given its impact on US fourth-quarter gross domestic product, said Aaron Kohli, interest rate strategist at BNP Paribas in New York. Treasuries yields, which move inversely to their prices, remained in a narrow range. Benchmark 10-year yields, which were as high as 2.66 percent on September 19, remained down from those levels partly on recent weakness in European economic data, analysts said.
Comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Thursday had virtually no impact on US bond prices since they did not refer to US monetary policy, analysts said. Traders also discounted data showing a slightly higher-than-expected rise in US jobless claims in the latest week. US 10-year notes were last up 4/32 in price to yield 2.35 percent, from a yield of 2.37 percent late Wednesday. US 30-year bonds were last up 4/32 to yield 3.07 percent, from a yield of 3.08 percent late Wednesday.
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