NEW YORK, Oct 31 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury prices were little changed on Wednesday, the first trading session after being closed for a day and a half due to Hurricane Sandy. While benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were up slightly, 30-year bonds were down a little based on the rationale that insurance companies would sell long-dated securities to make payments for Hurricane Sandy. ``There is some selling pressure in the long-end of the curve due to the view that insurance companies will liquidate 30-year securities to pay for Hurricane Sandy,'' said Tom di Galoma, managing director at Navigate Advisors LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. That view led to the difference between 10- and 30-year yields widening, he said. Thirty-year bonds dipped 3/32, their yields rising slightly to 2.890 percent from 2.885 percent on Monday. The market closed early on Monday and for the entire day on Tuesday due to disruptions in power and transportation caused by Hurricane Sandy. On Wednesday, volume was light with some trading desks still thinly staffed. ``The after effects of the storm remain with us with limited electricity meaning no New York City subways and few commuter rails, roads still requiring some nimble footwork around debris, and a bond community that probably hasn't showered in a few days or had a hot cup of coffee. So while trading will take place and data will be released, the market is still going to be illiquid,'' said David Ader, head of government bond strategy at CRT Capital Group in Stamford, Connecticut. The benchmark U.S. 10-year government bond traded between flat and up 2/32 in price. Its yield stood at 1.717 percent, down from 1.725 percent on Monday. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association recommended the U.S. government bond market open on Wednesday after New York was hit by Sandy, the worst storm to strike the metropolitan area in 75 years. ``We expect few problems with trading, although activity is likely to remain a little lighter,'' said Stone & McCarthy market analyst John Canavan in Princeton, New Jersey. Trading was narrow-ranged, in line with the view that bonds would keep to well-established ranges before next week's U.S. presidential elections. The next key market event is the release of October U.S. payrolls numbers on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters estimated U.S. non-farm payrolls expanded by 125,000 in October and that the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent reported in September. The ADP report on private payrolls growth was postponed until Thursday from Wednesday. Other key data due on Thursday include weekly U.S. jobless claims figures which could be impacted by Hurricane Sandy and the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index, forecast to read 51.2, a number that would point to expansion in manufacturing. Analysts believe the impact of the superstorm could hurt this quarter's economic output, even if the blow to the economy is seen as a short-term one. Supply was also on the market's mind, said Jefferies & Co vice president and money market economist Thomas Simons. ``The Treasury announced another $72 billion refunding package as expected,'' he noted. The Treasury said it would sell $32 billion in three-year notes, $24 billion in 10-year notes, and $16 billion in 30-year bonds next week. A 0.4 percent rise in the U.S. employment cost index during the third quarter was in line with its trend over the last two-and-a-half years, noted RBS economists, and had no discernible market impact. A 49.9 reading on the October Chicago Purchasing Managers report appeared to have little market impact.