Another day in yearend limbo; prices mixed, trading scanty.

There were more crossword puzzles than order tickets on trading desks yesterday as little fresh news emerged to inspire trading.

Treasury market prices ended narrowly mixed in extremely thin trading, with the 30-year bond down 3/32, to yield 6.23%.

Trading has been close to a stand-still this week. Retail accounts have long since exited the market, unwilling to take new bets on Treasuries after a year of impressive returns.

Institutional and bank customers have also pulled to the sidelines to avoid the risk of losses. According to market observers, only short-term day traders and speculative accounts have been active in the market this week.

As the market approaches yearend, accounts remain more interested in setting their investment compasses for 1994 than betting on the market. Most trading shops are working with skeleton staffs this week.

"People had a good year in the bond market and see no reason to get involved in trading now," said Donald Fine, chief market analyst at Chase Securities Inc.

Like most market observers, Fine is waiting to see if the vigor seen in the fourth quarter of 1993 carries over into next year, participants said. Until the market gets a better read on that, prices are likely to remain confined to recent ranges, he said.

A reported surge in consumer confidence created some volatility in the Treasury market yesterday, but the price action was short-lived. The Conference Board's closely watched consumer confidence index jumped to 80.2 in December from a revised 71.9 in November. The expectations index rose to 91.9 from 80.3, while the present-situation component rose to 62.6 from 59.2.

Despite the market's attempt to factor in a stronger report during the morning, prices lost ground. Traders said the latest reading on consumer sentiment was too strong for the market to ignore

"The recent boom in consumer spending hurt the market, and news that consumers are feeling better about the economy and their own finances is disappointing," one head trader said.

Offsetting the price declines was the fact that selling on the report was met with buying. Bargain hunters looked upon the price declines as an opportunity to grab Treasuries.

Lower commodity prices, led by a drop in oil, also gave Treasuries a boost. The decline in the Commodity Research Bureau's index relieved pressure on the market caused by a surge in December consumer confidence. The index was down 0.31 points to 225.38. The February oil futures contract was trading below $14 a barrel.

Another positive development was news from the Johnson Redbook Service that retail store sales dipped 0.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the four weeks ended Dec. 25 from the average level for all of November.

In futures, the March bond contract ended unchanged at 116.03.

In the cash markets, the 4 1/4% two-year note was quoted late yesterday up 1/32 at 100.04-100.05 to yield 4.16%, the 5 1/8% five-year note ended up 2/32 at 100.04-100.06 to yield 5.08%, the 5 3/4% 10-year note was up 3/32 at 100.14-100.18 to yield 5.67%, and the 6 1/4% 30-year bond was down 3/32 at 100.03-100.07 to yield 6.23%.

The three-month Treasury bill was up one basis point at 3.07%, the six-month bill was up one basis point at 3.22%, and the year bill was down one basis point at 3.44%.

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