Treasury prices inched down, pushing 10-year yields to the highest in a month, after tepid demand at the government's final auction of the week.

Yields on 10yr notes rose 3bps to 3.73%. Yields on 2yr notes were little changed at 0.87%. Yields on the current 30yr bond increased 4bps to 4.68%.

 
The Treasury Dept sold $16B in 30yr bonds at a yield of 4.720%, a little higher than traders expected. Bidders offered to buy 2.36 times the amount of debt being sold, compared to an average of 2.24 times at the last 4 sales. Indirect bidders bought 28.5%, compared to an average of 39.8% of the last 4 sales. Direct bidders, which include domestic money managers, purchased another a record 24.1%, vs. 10.4% on average.

A higher proportion of an auction going to indirect and direct bidders is deemed good for the government and the market because it indicates better demand for the debt by investors who will tend to hold the new securities. It's also better for the bond market because it leaves less in the hands of primary dealers, which tend to turn and sell some of the new debt into the market, pressuring prices.

The auctions were expected to be more difficult given that it's a holiday in Japan, said strategist at RBS Securities. Also, solid technical support for the long bond is at a much higher yield and recent sales have come at higher yields than traders expected.

The auction was the last in a week when the government sold $40B in 3yr notes and $25B in 10yr debt.

 
Treasurys were also under pressure as confirmation from European Union that they would support Greece if needed eased investor anxiety and made them more comfortable moving back into riskier assets.

Both U.S. stocks and crude-oil futures advanced.

Treasury yields briefly popped higher after the Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped 43K to 440K in the latest week, a bigger decline than economists estimated.