TOKYO: US Treasuries steadied in Asia on Friday, with the benchmark yield holding below a nearly two-year high hit after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled earlier this week that the US central bank could begin scaling back its stimulus.
The yield on 10-year notes stood at 2.433 percent after it rose as high as 2.471 percent on Thursday, its highest intraday level since August 2011, according to Reuters data.
Bond market sentiment was also underpinned by fading fears of a broader banking crisis in China, on speculation the central bank had quietly added funds to the market. Chinese cash rates spiked as high as 25 percent for a second day on Friday before easing.
"The tight situation in China has no direct relation to the Fed and appears to be due to the Chinese government trying to rein in domestic credit, but it scared some investors," said a fixed-income fund manager at a Japanese trust bank in Tokyo.
"Many people are on the edge this week after the Fed," he added.
Bernanke said on Wednesday that the economy is improving enough for the Fed to begin scaling back its monthly $85 billion in asset purchases.
The yield on 30-year notes was at 3.524 percent, down from 3.548 percent struck in US trade, its highest since early September 2011.
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