TREASURIES-U.S. bonds fall slightly after rally

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Fri Jan 22, 2010 9:03am EST

* Bond prices ease after Thursday's safe-haven rally

* Stock futures tad lower in wake of Obama's bank plan

* Traders expect concessions ahead of next week's supply

* No major U.S. economic data

By Emily Flitter

NEW YORK, Jan 22 (Reuters) - U.S. government debt prices slipped on Friday following a rally on Thursday, in which investors fled stocks for the safety of bonds on news that the Obama administration was planning new curbs on big banks.

The Treasury bond market was retreating slightly from the previous day's levels even though stock futures were drifting lower, signaling a lower market open.

With no significant economic data in store for the day, stock market movements, along with preparations for a new supply of debt next week, looked to be the strongest influences on the Treasury market.

"It's our opinion that if equities can settle down then the market could pull back a little bit because we have a lot of supply next week," said Rick Klingman, a managing director at BNP Paribas in New York. "But that's not foremost on people's minds. They are watching the S&P (futures)."

Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index SPc1 and Dow Jones Industrial average DJc1 were trading lower, a day after the stock market tumbled on President Barack Obama's proposal to limit bank size and to prevent bank ownership or investment in hedge funds for proprietary profit. [ID:nN21115923]

"The volatility really occurred yesterday and all markets are kind of languishing where they were yesterday," said Marty Mitchell, chief market technician at Stifel Nicolaus in Baltimore, Maryland.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note was off 4/32 in price to yield 3.61, up from 3.60 late on Thursday. Two-year notes US2YT=RR traded 1/32 lower in price to yield 0.85 percent, holding steady from late on Thursday, while the 30-year bond US30YT=RR was off 2/32 in price, yielding 4.50 percent.

"We're reaching technical levels that should cap the market," Mitchell said. "At some point the street's going to start using these upticks to set up shorts for the supply next week, to start to sell the market to build in a concession."

Five-year Treasury notes US5YT=RR traded 1/32 lower in price to yield 2.36 percent, a level unchanged from late on Thursday.

The U.S. Treasury Department plans to sell a combined $118 billion worth of new two-year, five-year and seven-year notes next week. (Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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