TREASURIES-Inch up in Asia, 3-year auction awaited

TOKYO Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasuries inched up in Asia on Tuesday, supported by reassurance from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the central bank will keep interest rates low for an extended period.

* Activity was limited as investors waited for a $40 billion auction of three-year notes later in the day. The Treasury is also scheduled to sell $21 billion in reopened 10-year notes on Wednesday and $13 billion in reopened 30-year bonds on Thursday.

* Few traders were worried about the market digesting the new supply of three-year notes as senior Fed officials, including Bernanke, on Monday curbed speculation of a quick rise in U.S. rates after a surprisingly small number of job losses in November. [ID:nFEDAHEAD]

* "Thanks to Fed officials' reassurances that interest rates will stay low for a while, investors now feel comfortable about picking up shorter-dated bonds," said a bond trader at a big Japanese bank. "Investors are also convinced the benchmark 10-year yield will stay under 3.5 percent."

* Ten-year note futures rose 5/32 to 118-11.5/32 TVv1.

* Ten-year Treasuries edged up 2/32 in price to yield 3.427 percent US10YT=RR, down about 1 basis point from late U.S. trade.

* Thirty-year notes dipped 2/32 in price to yield 4.385 percent US30YT=RR, down 0.5 basis point.

* Two-year notes barely moved from late U.S. trade to yield 0.763 percent US2YT=RR.

* Treasuries rose on Monday as fresh evidence that interest rates would remain low prompted investors to pick up government bonds after Friday's sell-off.

* In addition to Bernanke, New York Fed President William Dudley said the U.S. economy was still weak and reiterated that rates would stay low. [ID:nNYS007598] (Reporting by Rika Otsuka; Editing by Joseph Radford)