NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Treasury prices held on to modest gains Friday, defying a strong showing from Midwest manufacturers as traders hunted for bargains after several weeks of heavy selling.

At around 3:45 p.m. ET, the benchmark 10-year note rose 10/32 of a point to 96-2/32 to yield 4.50 percent, down from 4.54 late Thursday, and the 30-year bond gained 1/2 of a point to 101-10/32 to yield 5.28 percent, down from 5.31 Thursday.

The two-year note climbed 1/16 of a point to 99-28/32 to yield 2.32 percent, and the five-year note rose 7/32 to 97-25/32, yielding 3.62 percent.

Treasurys squeezed out early gains after data showed personal consumption rose 0.4 percent overall in March, even if much of that spending was soaked up by higher prices.

Stripping out inflation, real consumption rose only 0.1 percent, confirming the relatively sluggish pace of real spending seen in the first quarter GDP numbersreleased on Thursday.

The price index for core personal consumption expenditures, one of the Fed's favored inflation measures, climbed 0.2 percent. That took the annual rate to 1.4 percent from 1.2 percent in March, but that was somewhat less than many analysts had feared.

In contrast, surveys on regional manufacturing were unambiguously upbeat. The Chicago purchasing management index of business activity climbed to 63.9 in April, from 57.6 in March, easily beating analysts' forecasts of 60.4.

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There had been rumors the report would be strong -- perhaps even above 70.0 -- so the actual result was not too much of a shock for the bond market.

Also out was the University of Michigan survey of consumer confidence for April. It showed a modest rise to 94.2 from the preliminary reading of 93.2, but that still left it below the March level of 95.8.

Consumer surveys have shown scant correlation to actual spending habits in recent years, often showing weakness even while Americans buy cars and homes at record rates.

In the currency market, the dollar traded mixed against the euro and the yen. The euro bought $1.1984, almost unchanged from $1.1983 late Thursday. The dollar bought ¥110.40, up from ¥109.76 Thursday.