NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Most U.S. Treasurys turned in to positive territory after early losses Wednesday before a government report showed retail sales were weaker than expected in February.

The report eased slightly recent bond market fears that a quick economic recovery could lead to interest rate hikes.

But 30-year bonds fell after the finance arm of General Electric Co. (GE: down $1.07 to $40.03, Research, Estimates) nearly doubled its debt sale this week to $11 billion -- a record for a U.S. dollar denominated deal. The General Electric Capital Corp. sale, expected to be completed Wednesday, will include $5 billion of 30-year bonds.  

At 3:20 p.m. ET, two-year Treasury notes were up 5/32 at 99.04, yielding 3.45 percent. Five-year notes were up 8/32 at 95.12, yielding 4.59 percent. Benchmark 10-year notes rose 8/32 to 96.29, yielding 5.27 percent, and 30-year bonds were down 2/32 to 94.30, yielding 5.73 percent.

The jumbo GECC sale lured investors away from safe-haven Treasurys, while dealers sold bonds to hedge against interest rate fluctuations. Once the debt sale is out of the way, Treasurys may get a boost as dealers reverse those hedges.

Corporations are rushing to issue new debt before Treasury rates jump much higher and raise their borrowing costs. Including the GECC sale, firms are expected to sell more than $18 billion of investment-grade debt this week.

The market also reacted slightly to a speech on the U.S. economy by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

Earlier, a government report said U.S. retail sales rose slightly in February, but the increase was smaller than many economists expected and this reinforced the notion that while the nation's first recession in a decade is over, the recovery may not be robust.

Sales rose 0.3 percent in February, the Commerce Department said, after falling a revised 0.3 percent in January. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected sales to rise 0.9 percent.

Excluding volatile sales of automobiles and car parts, sales rose 0.2 percent after rising an unrevised 1.2 percent in January. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected sales excluding autos to rise 0.5 percent.

"There were shorts being set in preparation for an unfriendly number and with the surprise of seeing retail sales come in weaker than expected, we saw a spate of buying," said John Spinello, fixed-income strategist at Merrill Lynch. "The market had moved to new lows after two days of stabilization. But the information turned out to be a little bit bond friendly."

In the currency market, the yen fell to the week's lows against the dollar early Wednesday, weighed down by a drop in Japanese stocks, while the dollar gathered broad support following a rise in February retail sales data.

At 3:20 p.m. ET, the dollar was quoted at ¥129.44, up from ¥129.12 late Tuesday.

The euro bought 87.57 U.S. cents, up from 87.54 cents late Tuesday.  

--from staff and wire reports