US bond yields slip as refunding ends with fair 30-year sale

NEW YORK: US Treasury yields declined on Wednesday as average demand at a record-setting $18 billion 30-year bond auction supported the view investors are willing to own US government debt even as its borrowing needs will grow further.

The latest 30-year issue was the final part of this week's $78 billion in the government's quarterly debt refunding which was estimated to raise nearly $40 billion in new cash.

Some analysts and traders were concerned whether investors would step up to buy the ever increasingly pile of Treasuries as the government has ramped up its borrowing to finance a budget gap that has widened due to the massive tax cut in December and a two-year spending deal in February.

"It's relief that the auctions are now over. We didn't have a bloodbath," said Karl Haeling, vice president at Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg in New York. "Demand at the refunding came in pretty good."

The results at the 30-year auction were not stellar, but they were perceived among analysts to be strong enough to spur buying on the open market.

Traders who had bearish bets on longer-dated Treasuries before the refunding likely bought bonds to close out those positions, analysts said.

While not seen as a major concern for now, traders are monitoring developments in emerging markets as the Turkish lira tumbled a record low and the Russian rouble hit its weakest level in about two years.

At 2:19 p.m. (1819 GMT) amid light trading volume, benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was down 3 basis points at 2.933 percent, while the 30-year yield was down 4 basis points at 3.079 percent.

Mild domestic inflation, together with Federal Reserve's rate-increase campaign, have also supported demand for longer-dated US Treasuries, analysts said.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said on Thursday the US economy is doing "very well" and saw one or two more interest rate increases in 2018.

The US Labor Department said on Thursday producer prices were unchanged in July, falling short of a 0.2 percent increase expected by analysts polled by Reuters.

The PPI report precedes the release of the consumer price index in July at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT) on Friday.

Economists forecast that the CPI likely rose by 0.2 percent last month, bringing its year-over-year increase to 3.0 percent. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is expected to increase 2.3 percent from a year earlier.