Treasurys were little changed Friday as evidence of poor retail sales was the focus amid thin post-holiday trading. Ten-year note yields ) traded at 2.18%. Two-year notes ) rose 2 basis points, or 0.02%, to 0.90%. Five-year note yields ) fell 2 basis points to 1.52%. Yields move in the opposite direction as prices. "As the New Year approaches, we'll continue to expect choppiness and little else," said strategists at RBS Greenwich Capital Markets. The firm, one of the 17 primary government security dealers that is required to bid at Treasury auctions, said its data showed trading volume was less that 20% of the 10-day moving average on Wednesday, and too low to read this morning. MasterCard Inc.'s SpendingPulse unit showed total retail sales, excluding automobiles, fell over the year-earlier period by 5.5% in November and 8% in December through Christmas Eve, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. See retailer story. "Our first glimpse at retail sales for this holiday season are unnerving, to say the least," RBS strategists said. A deteriorating economic outlook and a spreading contagion in financial markets that triggered a massive flight to safety among investors have led Treasurys of all maturities to return 14.3% this year, according to an index compiled by Merrill Lynch. Bond markets were closed Thursday and trading ended early on Wednesday. Weekly loss Yields are set to end the week higher, for the first time since October as data reports earlier in the week came in better than many economists has expected. A private measure of consumer sentiment unexpectedly improved in December. The pace of new home sales in November slowed less than predicted and durable-goods orders and consumer spending declined less than seen. Yields may also be less attractive after falling to the lowest on record last week. Ten-year yields fell to 2.03% on Dec. 18. Two-year note yields fell as low as 0.62% on Dec. 16, also the lowest ever.

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