TOKYO: Treasury prices slipped in Asia on Monday on optimism Greece would secure funds it needs to avoid a default after its parliament passed an austerity plan, and ahead of US data this week expected to show a healthy rise in retail sales.
Greece passed the deeply unpopular austerity bill, even as protests and civil unrest spread across the country ahead of the vote. Approval cleared the way for Athens to secure a fresh 130 billion-euro bailout needed to avoid default.
Euro zone finance ministers are scheduled to meet later this week to discuss giving their seal of approval to the bailout ahead of a major Greek bond redemption on March 20.
"The move in Asian time was clearly in response to the Greek vote," said a fund manager at a Japanese life insurance company.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.00 percent , compared to 1.965 percent in US trading on Friday.
The yield on 30-year Treasuries gained to 3.15 percent from 3.11 percent in US trading.
US Treasuries have been undermined in recent weeks by better-than-expected US economic data, which some investors believe could lead the US Federal Reserve to back off its pledge to keep short-term interest rates near zero through the end of 2014.
Economists polled by Reuters estimate retail sales numbers on Tuesday will show a healthy rise of 0.7 percent in January, or a climb of 0.5 percent if January's robust auto sales are excluded.
Wednesday will bring the release of minutes from the Fed's Jan. 24-25 meeting, which could offer insight into how individual bankers feel about its low-rate pledge.
On the supply side, the Treasury Department completed its $72 billion quarterly refunding last week, which was expected to raise $22.4 billion in fresh funds.
The Federal Reserve also bought $1.39 billion in Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities due in 2028 to 2041, the latest purchases for the US central bank's $400 billion "Operation Twist" aimed to hold down long-term borrowing costs.
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