TOKYO: Treasuries were steady in Asia on Wednesday, as investors awaited progress on the latest steps toward Greece's bailout deal and digested the latest signals that global growth could slow.
Greece's private creditors must decide by Thursday evening whether to participate in a bond swap the country needs to conduct in order to secure the funds required to avoid a chaotic default and meet redemptions on March 20. Some domestic pension funds and foreign investors have rejected the swap offer.
Bond were also underpinned by euro zone data released on Tuesday that raised the possibility that the region might face a recession.
Oil prices rose after China said it would boost energy imports this year, and on persistent fears about supply risks and regional tension surrounding Iran's nuclear programme.
"Greece is worrying but it's looked upon as a situation where cooler heads will prevail, but that might not be the case with Iran. There would be a lot of problems, with any potential conflict," said a fixed income trader at a European bank in Tokyo.
The Federal Reserve will again buy longer-dated Treasuries on Wednesday and Thursday and is scheduled to sell shorter-dated securities on Friday, as part of its "Operation Twist" stimulus programme.
On Tuesday, the Fed bought $4.027 billion of Treasuries maturing May 2018 through November 2019 as part of the programme.
The yield on the 10-year note was steady from late US trading at 1.95 percent. The 10-year yield was at 1.99 percent in Asia on Tuesday.
The yield on 30-year Treasuries inched down to 3.08 percent from 3.09 percent in late US trading, and down from 3.14 percent in Asia on Tuesday.
Adding to Treasuries' appeal overnight, Brazilian data suggested the economy of that dynamic emerging market could be slowing, as growth expanded just 2.7 percent in 2011.
But Friday's nonfarm payrolls figures could pose a risk to Treasuries' safe-haven-inspired bid tone if they surprise on the upside and offer more evidence that the US economic recovery is picking up pace, quashing hopes of more stimulus.
Economists surveyed by Reuters expect employment to have increased by 210,000 jobs in February, after rising by 243,000 in the previous month. The unemployment rate is expected to be steady at a three-year low of 8.3 percent in February.
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