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Bonds mixed, dollar slips
Treasuries trim early losses after Fed comments failed to make much impact, dollar surrenders gains.
February 17, 2005: 4:42 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Long-term Treasury prices fell for a third session Thursday after comments from Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan reiterated that there would be no let-up in interest rate hikes and several reports raised additional inflationary concerns.

The dollar ended mixed.

The benchmark 10-year note fell 8/32 of a point to 98-14/32 to yield 4.19 percent, up from 4.16 percent late Wednesday. The 30-year bond fell 29/32 of a point to 112 to yield 4.58 percent, up from 4.52 percent Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

The five-year note was unchanged at 98-23/32, yielding 3.78 percent, while the two-year rose 2/32 of a point to 99-17/32, yielding 3.38 percent.

Federal Reserve chief Greenspan ended his testimony on the economy Thursday, repeating Wednesday's written testimony, which gave an upbeat reading on the economy and raised expectations the Fed's policy of small rate increases will persist through at least mid-year.

The Conference Board, a private business group, said its index of leading indicators of future economic growth fell 0.3 percent in January after two months of gains.

"The recent movements in the index suggest only moderate economic growth over the next 6 to 9 months," Steven Wood, economist at Insight Economics, told Reuters.

An unexpected drop in weekly jobless claims failed to soothe worries about the economy as some analysts noted that these numbers were not matched by an increase in net hiring.

Another government report showed import prices rose 0.9 percent in January, an increase that was larger than expected and reflected higher petroleum costs, which triggered fears of inflation.

In currency trading, the dollar gained on the yen but lost to the euro.

The euro bought $1.3075, up from $1.3025 late Wednesday, while the dollar bought ¥105.56, up from ¥105.43.  Top of page

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