- Black Friday to Avoid Red Ink; Greenback Gets the Blues
- Bankruptcies Jump, Hitting Highest Level in Four Years
- AIG, Ex-CEO Greenberg Reach Pact to Settle Disputes
- Bank of America CEO Search May Extend Into 2010
- Steepest Black Friday Discounts, Revealed
- Fed to Counsel Moviegoers on How to Use Credit Cards
- 'Cancer of Fraud' Permeates Health Care System: Critics
- Where Do Pardoned Turkeys Go?
- US Mint to Suspend American Eagle Gold 1-Ounce Coins
- 4 Thanksgiving Week Buys For Your Portfolio: Market Pros
- There's a 'Great Chance' For a Double-Dip Recession: Strategist
- Revenge of the Gangsta Nerds
- Will TCU See The "Flutie Effect?"
- Retail Earnings and Sales to Improve in Q4: Analyst
- Consumers Catching the Holiday Spirit
- It's Beginning To Look A Lot More Riskless
- Crescenzi: Claims Level Suggests End to Job Losses
- Hedge Funds Take Early Lead in Warren Buffett's 'Big Bet'
MOST SHARED
- The Executive Job Search
- Where Do Pardoned Turkeys Go?
- Salvation Army's Kettles Now Credit Card-Ready
- Chinese Overcapacity is Worsening, EU Chamber Warns
- Activision Prepares to Double Dip on ‘Modern Warfare 2’
- US Mint to Suspend American Eagle Gold 1-Ounce Coins
- S&P Stocks Trading at New 52-Week Highs
- Judge Erases Couple's $525,000 Mortgage Payment
- Oil Friday
Text Size 
U.S. Treasury debt prices were steady Tuesday after a $25 billion auction of benchmark 10-year notes garnered decent demand, but results did little to offset caution ahead of the 30-year note sale.
 |
The 10-year note auction came a day after a solid $40 billion three-year note auction, all part of this week's $81 billion Treasury refunding plan.
"It was a decent auction. Not nearly as strong as yesterday's three-year auction, but it came right at secondary market level," said Rick Klingman, managing director of Treasury trading at BNP Paribas in New York. "The indirect bids were still at a healthy level. Overall a very fair auction."
Benchmark 10-year notes were trading 2/32 higher in price to yield 3.48 percent, down from 3.49 percent late Monday, while 30-year bonds were 3/32 lower to yield 4.40 percent.
In the latest 10-year note auction, indirect bids, often viewed as a proxy for foreign demand, totaled $11.73 billion.
The notes were sold at a high yield of 3.470 percent, within market expectations, and 82.49 percent of the bids awarded at the high.
The bid-to-cover ratio, a gauge of overall auction demand, was 2.81 at the latest 10-year auction. It was above 2.49 at the August refunding and a long-term average of 2.28.
Non-competitive bids absorbed $106.0 million of the auction while primary dealers, Wall Street houses that are obligated to underwrite the sale, got $11.94 billion. The $16 billion 30-year bond auction is set for Thursday.
The U.S. bond market will be closed Wednesday in observance of Veterans Day.
Although the two latest auctions have served to underscore investors' appetite for U.S. government debt, investors have been more willing to put money in the shorter-dated part of the yield curve as they fret about the inflation outlook, according to analysts.
With Tuesday light on economic data, traders focused on remarks by Federal Reserve officials that struck a cautious note about the economy. A week ago, the U.S. central bank pledged it would hold interest rates near zero and stick to its ultra-loose monetary policy until economic growth is self-sustaining.
Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart and San Francisco Fed chief Janet Yellen said in separate appearances Tuesday that the U.S. economic recovery is fragile. This would require the central bank's full effort until a rebound is considered durable.
Weakness in Wall Street stocks, anxiety over Britain's credit-worthiness and weak overseas economic data also spurred a safety bid for Treasurys.
- For nearly three decades, these on-call experts have been dishing advice on how to – and not to – cook turkey.
- Eric Schmidt pledges to create a virtual copy of the Iraq National Museum at Google’s expense.
- Bill Griffeth is taking a leave of absence from CNBC and Power Lunch for a year. Here's a message from Bill.
- More shoppers than ever plan to comparison-shop this season. Who will benefit?
- It may be the most unusual guide to business you'll read.
- How can you get out of debt and back on the road to recovery? Follow these ten steps.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes