Business & Finance

Bonds steady in Asia, eyes on Fed minutes

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TOKYO: US Treasuries steadied in Asia after receiving a mild boost from new money inflows the previous day for the start of the quarter, with the market now looking to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting due later on Tuesday.

The yield on the 10-year notes stood at 2.189 percent compared to 2.180 percent in late US trade.

Treasury prices gained on Monday as some fund managers snatched up Treasuries on the view that Friday's selloff in thin trade was overdone.

Data continued to show a mixed picture on the US economy, leading many market players to expect range-bound trade in Treasuries.

The pace of growth in US manufacturing picked up last month, with the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) index of national factory activity rising to 53.4 from 52.4 in February, topping economists' expectations of 53.0.

But separate data on Monday showed construction spending suffered its biggest drop in seven months in February, prompting some economists to lower their expectations for first-quarter growth.

Mixed economic signals are making market players look at how the Federal Reserve perceived the economy when it slightly upgraded its assessment last month. The minutes of the Fed's March 13 meeting are due at 1800 GMT.

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