NEW YORK: US long-dated Treasuries prices edged lower on Thursday ahead of an auction of $16 billion in bonds, while prices on other Treasury maturities were little changed following U.S. jobless claims data.
The Treasury will sell $16 billion in 30-year Treasury bonds at 1:00 p.m. EST (1800 GMT), the last leg of this week's $66 billion in new supply. Analysts said dealers were selling some 30-year debt ahead of the auction in order to raise yields to levels more attractive to buyers.
"Dealers are more likely to lighten up on Treasury holdings given the relatively weak demand at Treasury auctions this week," said Ellis Phifer, senior market analyst at Raymond James in Memphis.
Treasuries prices gained slightly on Labor Department data showing initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose to 290,000 in the latest week, more than economists expected, according to a Reuters poll.
Traders discounted the data as it wasn't far from expectations and was less significant than Friday's monthly jobs report for October, analysts said.
Analysts said traders awaited comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the day, but did not expect key revelations on the status of U.S. monetary policy. Traders are watching the Fed closely for signs of how soon the central bank will raise rates from rock-bottom levels.
The scarcity of U.S. economic data kept Treasuries yields, which move inversely to prices, in a narrow range, said David Ader, head of government bond strategy at CRT Capital in Stamford, Connecticut.
He said benchmark 10-year yields, which were as high as 2.66 percent on Sept. 19, remained down from those levels on recent weak Asian and European economic data and a stronger U.S. dollar.
U.S. 10-year notes were last up 1/32 in price to yield 2.36 percent, from a yield of 2.37 percent late Wednesday. U.S. 30-year bonds were last down 4/32 to yield 3.09 percent, from a yield of 3.08 percent late Wednesday.
On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 stock index was last up 0.25 percent following Wal-Mart earnings and the jobless claims data.
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