After last week's climb, yields level off.

WASHINGTON -- Treasury note and bond prices stabilized yesterday in light trading while bills continued to give up ground following the bloodbath last week.

The absence of important economic reports and a firm dollar helped calm the market.

The long bond was quoted down just two ticks late yesterday at 92 17/32, with an unchanged yield of 8.17%. The 10-year note was down a tick at 94 23/32, yielding 8.04%.

Meanwhile, yields on three-month bills rose six basis points to 5.37%, and yields on six-month bills grew two basis points to 5.90%.

All told last week, yields on bills climbed about 20 basis points. After that, yesterday's losses didn't mean much, the chief investment officer at a mutual fund management firm said yesterday.

The short end of the yield curve is now "clearly priced" for a 75-basis-point increase in the federal funds rate by the Federal Reserve by the end of the year, he said.

The market still expects a 50-basis-point tightening at the Fed's next policy meeting on Nov. 15, then another move at the next meeting on Dec. 20, another analyst said.

Treasury Market Yields Previous Previous Monday Week Month3-Month Bill 5.35 5.14 n.a.6-Month Bill 5.88 5.65 n.a.1-Year Bill 6.36 6.13 n.a.2-Year Note 7.04 6.82 n.a.3-Year Note 7.31 7.04 n.a.5-Year Note 7.72 7.47 n.a.7-Year Note 7.87 7.63 n.a.10-Year Note 8.02 7.79 n.a.30-Year Bond 8.16 7.96 n.a.

Source: Cantor, Fitzgerald / Telerate

Stats

Stock Market: The dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.35 points yesterday to close at 3808.87.

Foreign Exchange: In late New York trading yesterday, the dollar was quoted at 97.35 Japanese yen and 1.5165 German marks.

Commodities: The Commodity Research Bureau's index closed down 1.15 points yesterday at 233.01.

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