Bond prices traded flat on Thursday after the U.S. government's auction of 30-year Treasury bonds, the third of three debt auctions this week.
The Treasury Department auctioned $13 billion in 30-year bonds at a high yield of 2.681 percent, the highest yield since December. The bid-to-cover ratio, an indicator of demand, was 2.18 and much lower than the 2.45 recent average.
The 30-year Treasury, which this week has benefited most from relative-value investment flows caused by Europe's massive bond-buying program, turned flat after the announcement. It was last yielding 2.682 percent after touching a low of 2.634 percent.
Other maturity Treasurys also pared earlier price gains, with the benchmark 10-year yield modestly higher at 2.115 percent.
Treasury prices rallied earlier after the government reported unexpectedly soft U.S. retail sales during February.
The Commerce Department reported shortly after the start of New York trading that U.S. retail sales had unexpectedly fallen for a third straight month in February.