TREASURIES-Steady in Asia, readying for payrolls

TOKYO Feb 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices recouped a little ground in Asian trade on Thursday, after a fall the previous day and as Asian share markets eased, with the focus on key U.S. jobs data at the end of the week.

* A payrolls report on Friday showing some jobs growth could depress bond prices if traders take the view an interest rate rise is closer than thought, while the market is also preparing for supply next week.

* Non-farm payrolls are forecast to have risen by 8,000 in January, according to a poll of the 20 people who have given the most accurate predictions in recent Reuters polls, though a wider poll of 80 predicts a gain of 5,000, see [ID:nN03175623]. Employers cut 85,000 jobs in Dec after a gain of 4,000 in Nov.

* The market is marking time ahead of the payrolls data, one trader at a European bank in Tokyo said, but it seems to be positioned fairly neutrally for the numbers. "An outlying number could produce a nice move one way or the other," the trader said.

* The market also faces $81 billion in quarterly refunding next week with 3- and 10-year notes and 30-year bonds up for sale.

* The sale of 10- and 30-years is likely to create the most uncertainty and any rise in bond prices after the jobs data could be limited, the trader said.

* Before Friday's monthly figures, weekly jobless claims are due at 1330 GMT on Thursday, with forecasts for 460,000 new filings compared with 470,000 the prior week. Q4 productivity and unit labour costs are due at the same time, followed by Dec factory orders at 1500 GMT.

* Stock markets around Asia eased after U.S. stocks mostly fell the previous day, with Japan's Nikkei .N225 down 0.5 percent and the MSCI index of Asian shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS falling 0.8 percent.

* March 10-year note futures TYv1 rose 1/32 to 117-19.5/32, after falling on Wednesday.

* The 10-year note US10YT=RR rose 3/32 in price to yield 3.695 percent, down just over 1 basis point from late U.S. trade and below a two-week high above 3.70 percent.

* The spread between the 10- and two-year note yields stood at about 282 basis points, down from a record wide at about 288 bps in January, but more than 273 bps at the end of last month.

* The 30-year bond US30YT=RR rose 4/32 in price to yield 4.630 percent, down almost 1 bp from late U.S. trade. (Reporting by Charlotte Cooper; Editing by Joseph Radford)