TREASURIES-Drop in Asia on Hoenig, supply concerns
By Chikako Mogi
TOKYO, May 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury futures fell to a four-month low in Asia on Wednesday after Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig said the Federal Reserve may need to act in a timely way to counter inflation pressures.
Hoenig said late on Tuesday that U.S. economic growth should pick up in the second half of 2008, and given "serious" threats from inflation the Fed will at some point need to raise interest rates. [ID:nN06528406]
June T-note futures TYv1 fell as much as 10/32 to 114-17/32, a four-month low.
Benchmark 10-year notes <US10YT=RR> fell 3/32 in price to yield 3.934 percent, down 2 basis points from late U.S. trade, after hitting a four-month high of 3.938 percent.
Two-year notes <US2YT=RR> fell 1/32 in price to yield 2.423 percent, down about four basis points from late U.S. trade.
Traders said selling was also driven by supply concerns before this week's quarterly refunding auctions and due to technical selling as key chart levels have been broken over the past few trading sessions.
"The drop in prices was timed around Hoenig's comments," said a dealer at a foreign securities firm. He added, however, that the remarks were "not something to be overly drawn into" as the Fed has been making similar comments about inflation risks.
"The market moves are more technical, with some support levels being broken and supply due later in the day. There isn't a lot of market momentum," he said. Continued...




