NEW YORK: Treasury prices rose Friday after a report on consumer prices in March showed that inflation remains tame. The price of the 10-year Treasury note rose 81 cents per $100 invested in late trading. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, fell to 3.41 percent from 3.51 percent late Thursday. The Labor Department said consumer prices excluding food and energy inched up just 0.1 percent last month, less than the 0.2 percent increases in January and February. The entire index jumped 0.5 percent in March, reflecting a recent spike in energy prices. “That provided a little relief,” said Josh Stiles, an analyst at IDEAGlobal.com. “The market already was prone to a little bounce after the auctions ended.” The Treasury department sold $66 billion in 30-year bonds and 10-year and three-notes this week. Treasury prices were also lifted by renewed concerns over Europe's debt crisis after Moody's cut Ireland's credit rating to one notch above junk-bond status. In other trading, the price of the 30-year bond rose $1.47 per $100 invested, while its yield fell to 4.47 percent from 4.55 percent late Thursday. The yield on the two-year note slipped to 0.70 percent from 0.77 percent. The yield on the three-month T-bill was unchanged at 0.06 percent. Its discount was also 0.06 percent.
