TREASURIES-Prices pare losses on short-covering before auction

NEW YORK Feb 12 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasuries prices erased most of their earlier losses after a Group of Seven official expressed concern about excessive moves in the Japanese yen, sparking a round of short-covering in Treasuries before a three-year note auction.

Benchmark 10-year notes were last down 2/32 in price to yield 1.96 percent, down from 1.98 percent earlier.

The Treasury will sell $32 billion in three-year notes at 1 p.m. Eastern time (1800 GMT), the first in $72 billion in new supply this week.