Bonds hit highs on French paper report on euro ratings

NEW YORK: US Treasuries prices posted session highs in early afternoon trading on Friday after a French newspaper reported Standard & Poor's will downgrade Italy, Spain and Portugal by two notches.

French daily Les Echos said, without citing its sources, that the rating agency would spare Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Luxembourg in its long-awaited adjustment of euro zone sovereign ratings.

It said the announcement would come at around 2130 GMT.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were up as much as 26/32 at 101-15/32 in price with a yield of 1.84 percent. They last traded at 101-11/32, up 22/32 on the day with a yield of 1.85 percent, according to Tradeweb.