NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Bond prices headed south Monday as an anxiety-stricken Japanese yen held its lows and a long-awaited revival of stocks finally arrived.
After opening the day on the upside, the 30-year Treasury issue slipped 7/32 of a point in price, for a yield of 5.70 percent in thin U.S. trading Monday.
"And if not for the gyrations in the equity market, it would have been a lot thinner," said Anthony Crescenzi, a bond analyst with Miller Tabak Hirsch.
Bond market traders were wary that stocks, which took a beating last week, would revive Monday. And despite falling sharply as trading began, the Dow industrials were on the upside by the afternoon.
Bonds have been an outlet for safety-seeking portfolio managers and other investors amidst the selloff in stocks. The Dow lost 400 points last week, its worst weekly drop this year.
Meanwhile the yen, whose limpness of late propelled bonds to new highs, remained in a tight band Monday and was trading at 142.36 yen to the dollar at mid-afternoon.
Because of that weak yen, which usually sends investors flocking to dollar-denominated securities, "you'd think the bond market would be doing better," said Crescenzi.
But, he said, many traders are waiting for the yen to break new ground before flocking into bonds again.
Bond market watchers also forecast light trading this week ahead of late-week reports on the employment cost index and the gross domestic product, scheduled for release on Thursday and Friday, respectively. 
-- by staff writer Jamey Keaten
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