Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields, which fell more than 10 basis points on Thursday, undid much of that move and were up 6 bps in early European trade.
Euro zone bond yields also started the day higher, with Germany's 10-year yield, the benchmark for the region, up nearly 2 basis points to -0.28%.
The central bank ramped up buying of sovereign bonds after a surge in U.S. Treasury yields lifted borrowing costs in the bloc and threatened Europe's tentative recovery.
Italy started the process of selling new 50-year and 7-year bonds via a syndicate of banks on Wednesday, having flagged the new issues the previous day.
That pushed US Treasury yields higher across the curve on Friday, and as much as 6 basis points on five-year Treasuries.
"Thanks to yesterday's decline in US Treasury yields, any upward pressure on Bund yields stemming from spillover effects is likely to be limited," UniCredit analysts told clients.
The number of new confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany rose the most since Jan. 9, while the number of people with COVID-19 in French intensive care units set a high for 2021.
US Treasury yields were flat in London trading after dipping on Wednesday, when the Treasury saw average demand at an auction of five-year notes.
Rising oil prices also put some upward pressure on borrowing costs, helping push a key gauge of the market's long-term euro zone inflation expectations to the highest levels since 2019.
The headwinds from US Treasuries remain strong but euro bond bears seem to be getting less aggressive as the ECB meeting draws closer.
Bets that US stimulus would boost inflation and growth pushed government bonds worldwide to their worst performance in years in February. Central banks so far have appeared relatively sanguine about the rise in bond yields.
On Thursday, Germany's 10-year yield was down around 3 basis points at -317% at 1610 GMT, after rising 5 basis points on Wednesday.
Yields are down from their highs this week, but pressure remains. US Treasury yields rose on Wednesday, alongside euro area government bond yields and UK gilts, pushing stock markets and other low-yielding safe assets lower on Thursday.
Italian bond yields were last unchanged, pushing up the gap between 10-year Italian and German yields a touch higher to around 104 bps.
After major benchmarks on Monday marked their best daily performance since June 2020, euro area bonds calmed on Tuesday. Germany's 10-year yields, the benchmark for the region, rose 2 basis points to -0.32% at 1140 GMT.
Southern European bonds came under renewed pressure, with Italian bonds underperforming. The 10-year yield rose 4 basis points to 0.71%.
Benchmark 10-year US borrowing costs rose to their highest in a year at 1.614% overnight, rocking stock markets. Yields are up more than 70 basis points so far this year.
We have potentially strong US data to come later today and rates, credit and equities market are all vulnerable to more correction lower in price on upside economic surprises.
US bond borrowing costs could be headed still higher after reaching 1% this week, on expectations a Democrat-controlled Congress will have the clout to pass more fiscal stimulus.
Germany's benchmark 10-year Bund yield fell 1 basis point to -0.524%.
French business activity unexpectedly also almost returned to growth this month as some coronavirus restrictions were eased and the manufacturing sector saw a minor rebound.
China's blue-chips, however, ended 0.2pc higher, helped by upbeat factory data which expanded for an eighth month in a row as an economic recovery gathered pace.
Bond yields rose on Monday after an extension of trade talks between Britain and the European Union eased fears of a messy parting of ways between the two.