Government to sell $28 billion in five-year notes Treasurys were mixed Tuesday ahead of reports expected to show new and existing home sales slowed in November and consumer sentiment weakened in December. Two-year note yields ) fell 3 basis points, or 0.03% to 0.88%. Bond yields move inversely to prices. Ten-year yields rose 4 basis points to 2.22%. New home sales should drop to a 400,000 annual pace, the lowest level since the 1981-82 recession. Existing home sales are expected to decline to a 4.90 million rate. Both reports, as well as one on consumer sentiment, are expected at 10 a.m. Traders said overnight volume was low as Japanese bond markets were closed. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association recommends that trading end early Wednesday and remain closed Thursday in observance of Christmas. "Not only do we have fewer people willing to play and there is some risk of exaggerated year end moves on limited flows," said David Ader, U.S. government bond strategist at RBS Greenwich Capital. Five-year auction Also coming later in the trading session, the Treasury Department will auction a record $28 billion in five-year notes, taking bids until 1 p.m. Eastern. The current five-year note yield was up slightly to 1.44%. On Monday, the government auctioned $38 billion in two-year notes, the biggest sale ever, with the yield coming in below 1% -- the lowest ever. Short-term Treasurys remained bid after the Commerce Department confirmed that the U.S. economy contracted at a 0.5% annual rate in the third quarter. The gross domestic product figure was the final revision for the three months ended in September and in line with expectations of economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

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