TREASURIES-Bond prices rise as U.S. nears 'fiscal cliff'
* Senate leader Reid hints U.S. might go over 'fiscal cliff'
* U.S. fast approaching debt ceiling, Geithner tells Congress
* Trading volume picks up but still light after Christmas
* Fed to buy up to $5.25 bln in Treasuries due 2018-2020
NEW YORK, Dec 27 (Reuters) - U.S. government debt prices rose on Thursday on safe- h aven buying after the U.S. Senate ma jority le ader hinted a federal budget deal wa s unlikely be fore the year-end deadline, raising chances of a burdensome package of tax hike s and spending cuts k ic k ing in next year . This series of automatic f iscal maneuvers wort h $600 billion, commonly referred to as the "fiscal cliff," i s set to ph ase in after Monday, raising fears of a U.S. recession. "It looks like that is where we're headed," Harry Reid, the Democrat leader of the Senate, said of the likelihood of the U.S. economy going over the "fiscal cliff." The budget talks stalled last week as the White House and Republicans remained far apart on issues of income tax hikes and spending cuts to social programs. 1/8I D:nL1E8NQ132 3/8 Some traders earlier had bet that a minor, temporary fix might still be approved by next Monday as President Barack Obama and Congress returned from their Christmas vacation. M ost analysts now said chances have faded that a timely budget compromise will materialize and the bond market is poised for further gains after Reid's pessimistic remarks. "That's probably if it looks like we're going over and there's still no agreement in sight," said Richard Gilhooly, interest rates strategist at TD Securities in New York. Despite Tuesday's moves, longer-dated debt prices and the shape of the yield curve suggested market expectations a bout the fiscal cliff ha ve not shifted that much this week. "We are seeing some positioning just in case of a deal, but there's not enough steepening of the curve to suggest traders favoring either outcome," said Sean Murphy, a Treasuries trader at Societe Generale in New York. Benchmark 10-year notes were 8/32 higher in price to yield 1.722 percent, down 2.7 basis point from late on Wednesday. Thirty-year bonds rose 15/32 to yield 2.898 percent, down 2.4 basis points from Wednesday. Trading volume rose from Tuesday as most European markets reopened after the Christmas holiday, but it remained well below average. Anxiety about a possible recession if the U.S. goes over the 'fiscal cliff' overshadowed news that jobless claims fell to a near 4-1/2 year low, suggesting resilience in the labor market, and that November new home sales rose to their highest level since April 2010. Those positive readings were mitigated by a deterioration in consumer confidence, which fell to its weakest level in four months. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve will purchase up to $5.25 billion in notes due 2018-2020 at 11 a.m. (1600 GMT), as a part of its Operation Twist, which involves buying long-term debt and funding the purchases with sales of short-term notes. The Fed will replace the Twist program with outright bond purchases ranging from five years to 30 years next year.
DEBT CEILING In addition to being the deadline on the fiscal cliff, Monday marks the day the federal government is set to reach its $16.4 trillion debt limit, the Treasury Department said late on Wednesday. To cut government spending and delay bumping up against the debt ceiling, the Treasury will suspend issuance of state and local government series securities -- known as "slugs" -- beginning on Friday, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner wrote in a letter to Congressional leaders. The Treasury will take other measures to buy time for the government to approve a debt ceiling increase. This scenario echoed what happened last August when there was a stalemate between the White House and Congress on raising the federal debt limit and fears grew about a U.S. default. While Standard & Poor's stripped the U.S. of its top-notch credit rating, Treasuries prices quickly recovered from losses after the debt ceiling was raised.