Treasuries little changed as dollar stabilizes.

WASHINGTON--The Treasury securities market ended Friday little changed from Thursday's carnage, when two surprisingly strong economic reports pushed the tong bond yield up 11 basis points to 8.0%.

In thin trading Friday, the market had little to focus on except the dollar, which also stabilized after the Bank of Japan attempted to prop up the dollar against the yen in overnight trading, analysts said.

The 30-year bond was quoted up 3/32 late Friday, putting it at a price of 94 13/32 and a 7.99% yield. The 10-year note was up 4/32 at 96 10/32 and a 7.79% yield.

Meanwhile, bills were unchanged as of late Friday, with three-month bills yielding 5.13% and six-month bills yielding 5.67%.

Rumors of quiet intervention by foreign central banks throughout Friday also helped keep the long end from deteriorating further. "The dollar held so bonds held," said a bond trader in Chicago, where the rumor mill was most active.

Kim Rupert, an analyst with MMS International, doubted that any intervention occurred during the day. "The market is ripe for rumors" in the absence of new economic statistics, she said.

The long bond managed to finish up slightly, but the tone of the market throughout most of the day was decidedly bearish, noted Rupert and other market observers. "Bonds were off most of the day," she said.

Bonds hit a low relatively early, with the yield reaching 8.04% for a brief period, around the time the dollar hit its low for the day. Treasury Market Yields Previous Previous Friday Week Month 3-Month Bill 5.11 4.96 4.896-Month Bill 5.64 5.46 5.401-Year Bill 6.15 6.00 5.872-Year Note 6.74 6.54 6.493-Year Note 7.03 6.84 6.785-Year Note 7.43 7.23 7.197-Year Note 7,62 7.41 7.3810-Year Note 7.78 7.59 7.5530-Year Bond 7.97 7.82 7.78 Source: Cantor, Fitzgerald / Telerate

Stats

Stock Market: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 19.85 points Friday, at 3891.30.

Foreign Exchange: In late New York trading on Friday, the dollar was quoted at 97.15 Japanese yen and 1.4995 German marks.

Commodities: The Commodity Research Bureau's index closed down 2.16 points Friday at 231.75,

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER