By Deborah Levine, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Treasury prices rose on Monday, pushing down yields before the government sells $35 billion in 3-year notes, the smallest amount in a year.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year notes (UST10Y 3.04, -0.02, -0.49%) fell 2 basis points to 3.04%. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. Yields move in the opposite direction as prices.
Yields on 2-year notes (UST2YR 0.63, 0.00, 0.00%) declined 1 basis point to 0.63%.
The Treasury Department will accept auctions on new 3-year notes (UST3YR 1.01, +0.00, +0.30%) until 1 p.m. Eastern time.
The to-be-issued securities, maturing in July 2013, were trading around the 1.03% level earlier in the day, according to RBS Securities' strategists.
"Today's auction award is highly likely to be far-and-away the lowest in history," they wrote in a note. The previous low for the security was 1.20% in January 2009.
Though no major economic data were due for release on Monday, Tuesday will bring a report on retail sales. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expect it to show sales fell 0.4% in June. Reports on consumer-price inflation and consumer sentiment are also scheduled for the week. Read about economic reports.
The government will also be selling more long-term debt this week, including 10-year notes and 30-year bonds (UST30Y 4.03, -0.01, -0.17%) .
Last week, Treasury prices fell for the first week in three, as fears about the global recovery eased and stocks jumped. Read about bonds performance.
