Treasury prices mixed
Prices for longer term bonds fall but other maturities advance as investors look for safety.
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| Click the chart for current bond prices and yields. |
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Treasurys were mixed Monday, with prices for longer-term bonds falling ahead of this week's auctions and prices for most other maturities rising as investors flocked to the relative safety of U.S. debt.
Bonds were supported by earlier weakness in the stock market, where Thursday's dour jobs report continued to undermine confidence in the economy. A rally in select blue chips helped stocks cut losses to end mixed.
Investors often buy Treasurys, which are considered one of the safest assets available, when the economic outlook darkens and stock prices fall.
But prices for 30-year and 10-year bonds were pushed lower as the government prepares to auction $73 billion in U.S. debt this week.
The government said it garnered more than $20 billion worth of bids for the $8 billion in inflation protected securities, or TIPS, offered Monday. That made for a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.51, which suggests the auction received relatively strong demand.
The Treasury will offer $35 billion in 3-year notes Tuesday; $19 billion in 10-year bonds Wednesday, and $11 billion in 30-year debt Thursday.
While recent auctions have been well bid, many investors remain concerned that the record amounts of debt coming to the market will eventually push prices lower.
"The weakness in global equities has brought back the risk-aversion trade," said Kim Rupert, fixed-income analyst at Action Economics. "The long end continues to be sold, which I think is mostly supply related."
Longer term bonds were also pressured by concerns that the government's efforts to stimulate the economy will boost inflation. Rising prices erode the value of fixed-income assets.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve bought another $7 billion worth of Treasurys maturing between January 2014 and March 2016. The purchases are part of the central bank's ongoing plan to buy $300 billion worth of such assets to keep interest rates in check and help the economy recover.
The Fed will also purchase Treasurys on Thursday.
Bond prices: The benchmark 10-year note was down 4/32 to 96-16/32 and yielded 3.5%, up from 3.49% Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in different directions.
The 30-year bond fell 19/32 to 98 and yielded 4.35%.
The 2-year note rose 4/32 to 100-9/32 and its yield was 0.95%.
The 3-month bill held steady at 0.16%.
Lending rates: Bank-to-bank lending rates remained near record lows as credit conditions ease among financial institutions.
The three-month Libor fell to 0.55% from 0.58% Thursday, according to Bloomberg.com. The overnight Libor rate eased to 0.26% from 0.27%.
The London Interbank Offered Rate -- or Libor -- is a daily average of rates that 16 different banks charge each other to lend money, and is used to calculate adjustable-rate mortgages. More than $350 trillion in assets are tied to Libor. 
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