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Bonds fall for 2nd day
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August 27, 1999: 9:32 a.m. ET
News of muted income, spending has little effect on Treasury prices
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Treasury bonds edged lower for the second consecutive session Friday, showing little reaction to news that Americans' income and spending rose modestly.
Just before 9:15 a.m. ET, the price of the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond fell 8/32 to 102-29/32. Its yield, which moves inversely to price, rose to 5.91 percent from Wednesday's close of 5.85 percent.
In the day's only economic indicator, the Commerce Department said personal income rose a weaker-than-expected 0.2 percent in July. Spending, meanwhile, climbed 0.4 percent, pushing the savings rate down to a negative1.4 percent.
With Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve chairman, often warning that rising wages could lead to an uptick in inflation, a weaker-than-forecast figure could be bullish for the bond market, which is ever-sensitive to gains in prices.
But traders showed response. The day's only potentially market moving event comes later this morning when Greenspan speaks at a Jackson Hole, Wyo., conference hosted by the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank.
Next week, traders will get their first peek at how the economy performed in August when the National Association of Purchasing Management releases its closely watched index of manufacturing activity, which is expected to rise to 54.5, according to analysts surveyed by Reuters. And next Friday, the Labor Depart releases its August employment figures. Analysts expect an unemployment rate of 4.3 percent, near a 20-year low, while 206,000 jobs are expected to be added.
Dollar edges higher
The dollar was mixed against the major currencies Friday. Just before 9:15 a.m. ET, it cost $1.0457 to buy one euro, up from $1.0453 Wednesday, a slight drop in the dollar's value.
A week after falling to seven-month lows against the Japanese yen, the greenback has staged a modest recovery. The dollar Friday strengthened to 111.74 yen from Thursday's close of 111.53, a 0.23 percent rise in the dollar's value. 
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