the Fed is still on track on raising rates," Reaser said. The Fed is widely expected to raise official interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.00 percent. "The prices paid is still way up there. Inflation is still running a little hot, enough that the Fed will continue to raise interest rates," said Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wachovia Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina. Analysts also studied the employment component of the manufacturing data for clues to Friday's April non-farm payrolls report. The employment index dipped to 52.3 from 53.3 in March, which could temper talk of a sizable gain in April payrolls. Analysts on average are looking for a rise of 170,000 jobs from 110,000 in March. U.S. Treasuries prices initially ticked higher after release of the data. But they met selling once investors realized the information was not likely to dissuade the Fed from its policy of rate tightening. --More 2339 Local Time 2039 GMT
