WASHINGTON -- A well-received two-year note auction and a weaker dollar yesterday seemed to offset each other. leaving the long bond essentially unchanged with a 8.13% yield, analysts said.
Late yesterday, the benchmark 30-year bond was quoted down a tick at a price of 92 30/32, while 10-year notes were off 3/32 at 99 1/32 with a 8.01% yield. Trading was thin across the board and bonds remained in a narrow range.
Meanwhile, other notes lost a few ticks while three- and six-month bills posted modest gains, with yields falling to 5.45% and 6.06%, respectively.
"The two-year auction was the dominant trading impetus." said Tony Crescenzi, director of fixed income at Miller. Tabak, Hirsch & Co. The 2.73 bid-to-cover ratio was strong by recent standards, but the level of noncompetitive tenders at $1.2 billion was a little weak, he said.
Crescenzi speculated that bonds could gain a little ground in the near term if growth in consumer demand begins to slow. Weaker home, car, and department store sales would help, he said. The Treasury market is expected to remain relatively quiet this holiday week, with few important reports coming out.
However, today, the market will have to absorb $11 billion of five-year notes -- the long bond of the short end -- auctioned by the Treasury Department. And tomorrow, the Commerce Department releases the October durable goods report. Treasury Market Yields Previous Previous Monday Week Month 3-Month Bill 5.47 5.40 5.126-Month Bill 6.05 5.92 5.681-Year Bill 6.64 6.48 6.212-Year Note 7.20 7.01 6.793-Year Note 7.52 7.34 7.095-Year Note 7.79 7.63 7.507-Year Note 7.89 7.77 7.6710-Year Note 8.00 7.91 7.8330-Year Bond 8.12 8.07 8.03 Source: Cantor, Fitzgerald / Telerate
Stats
Stock Market: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45.75 points yesterday to close at 3769.51.
Foreign Exchange: In late New York trading yesterday, the dollar was quoted at 98.34 Japanese yen and 1.5560 German marks.
Commodities: The Commodity Research Bureau's index closed down 1.22 points yesterday at 231.50.
