Treasury prices stayed down slightly Thursday, pushing yield up to the highest since mid-March, after the Labor Department said weekly claims for jobless benefits rose to 640,000 in the latest week. Ten-year note yields rose 1 basis point to 2.95%. Continuing claims reached a new record, indicating ongoing strains on finding a new job once unemployed. Bond traders were also jockeying ahead of the Federal Reserve's purchase of 3- and 4-year notes, which supported shorter-term securities. The Treasury Department will announce how much in notes it will auction next week, then sell $8 billion in five-year inflation-indexed debt. On the economic front, data on existing home sales is due at 10 a.m. Eastern time.

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