By Deborah Levine, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Treasury prices edged up on Thursday before the government's sale of a record $16 billion in 30-year bonds during the session, the last of three major note and bond auctions this week.
Yields on 10-year notes (UST10Y 3.47, -0.01, -0.37%) , which move inversely to prices, declined 1 basis point to 3.47%. A basis point is 0.01%.
Complicating preparation for the auction, bond markets were closed on Wednesday for Veterans Day.
The Treasury Department will accept bids on the new 30-year bonds (UST30Y 4.41, +0.01, +0.27%) until 1 p.m. Eastern time.
Yields on 30-year bonds had risen in the last two trading sessions, which is common as dealers sell existing holdings to buy the newest, most liquid security, and to push prices down before they must bid.
But the move has been small since the auction amount was announced on Nov. 4, and 30-year bonds were trading at 4.42%.
"The bond, despite its cheapening, will likely seek additional concession given the lack of time for the setup," said John Spinello, Treasury strategist at Jefferies & Co., one of the 18 primary government security dealers required to bid at Treasury auctions. "The foreign community is not usually a strong participant in bonds, which will require some reliance in the pension, insurance and perhaps some long-dated fund managers to provide a smooth underwriting."
Treasurys pared some small gains in earlier trading after the Labor Department said 502,000 Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the latest week, falling to a lower level than economists expected. See more on jobless claims.
Also weighing on the market, traders noted some comments made by Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser to Market News International, saying the central bank could act pretty quickly to head off an inflation problem. The comments come in contrast to others made this week, focusing on a sluggish recovery in light of a grim labor market.
