By Deborah Levine, MarketWatch NEW YORK (Marketwatch) -- Treasury prices declined on Thursday, pushing 10-year yields to four-month highs, after a pair of reports showed jobless claims fell and a measure of durable-goods orders increased, adding to evidence of economic growth and deterring interest in government debt during the holiday-thinned trading session. Yields on 10-year notes (UST10Y 3.78, +0.02, +0.61%) rose 1 basis point to 3.76%, the highest since August. A basis point is 0.01% and yields move inversely to prices. Yields on 2-year notes (UST2YR 0.94, +0.02, +2.17%) rose 2 basis points to 0.94%, after touching the highest on a closing basis since late October. The Labor Department said jobless claims in the latest week fell by 28,000 to 452,000, lower than expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. See more on jobless claims. Separately, the Commerce Department said orders for durable goods, excluding volatile transportation orders, rose 2% last month. See more on durable-goods orders. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association recommends bond markets close at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday and remain closed Friday for Christmas. "With overnight volumes at anemic levels and outright lows not seen since the end of last year, the market has effectively shut down for at least the long holiday weekend, and quite possibly the year," said strategists at CRT Capital Group. With the last data of the week past, traders are turning their attention to next week's $118 billion in note auctions, with plenty of skepticism that they will receive anywhere near the strong demand at recent sales. The Treasury Department will be looking for buyers for $44 billion in 2-year notes on Monday. Trading next week is also shortened by the New Year's holiday. "Street traders will still be burping up egg nog as they scramble to find $44 billion in bids for the issue by lunch on Monday," said Bill O'Donnell, head of Treasury strategy at RBS Securities, in emailed comments. "There is not a lot of time to set up for this auction." That sale will be followed by $42 billion sale of 5-year notes (UST5YR 2.51, +0.04, +1.41%) Tuesday and $32 billion in 7-year debt on Wednesday. The amounts are the same as last month's sales, but demand may be subdued during that holiday-shortened week, when many firms will have reduced trading activity at end of the year. The auctions will be the last in a year that has seen a huge increase in government debt supply. This supply is expected to expand further in 2010. Benchmark 10-year yields have jumped from 3.55% last Friday and 3.20% this month, as a jump in existing-home sales got investors excited that the housing market is improving. Two-year yields have increased from 0.80% last Friday, and from 0.67% at the end of November.

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