TOKYO: Treasury prices halted their overnight slide, holding steady in Asia on Wednesday as investors looked toward key US employment data later this week to gauge the strength of economic recovery.
The US Labor Department will release its nonfarm payrolls report on Friday morning. Economists estimate employers added 170,000 jobs last month, a subdued outlook after a disappointing 120,000 gain in March.
Japan's markets will be closed on Thursday and Friday, and were also shut on Monday this week for the Golden Week holiday.
"No one wants to be short ahead of the payrolls report. Last month, it was the disappointing March report that sent investors back into Treasuries again," said a fixed-income fund manager at a Tokyo asset management firm.
"Maybe a good or bad report isn't a make-or-break indicator of more US stimulus steps, but it could cause some movement in the market either way," he added.
Treasuries fell on Tuesday after the Institute for Supply Management said its index on nationwide factory activity rose to 54.8 in April, up from 53.4 in March.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries stood at 1.95 percent, matching its level in late US trade and up from 1.92 percent in Asian trading on Tuesday.
The 30-year bond yield was at 3.15 percent, also steady from late US trading and above 3.12 percent in Asia on Tuesday.
On the supply side on Tuesday, the US Federal Reserve bought $4.73 billion in Treasuries due in May 2020 to November 2021 under its $400 billion "Operation Twist" stimulus programme aimed at suppressing long-term interest rates.
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