TREASURIES-Futures slip in Asia after CPI

TOKYO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury note futures slipped in Asia on Thursday, carrying over weakness from the previous session when Treasuries were dented by data showing a higher rise in consumer prices than expected.

Consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in January while core prices, which exclude food and energy costs, climbed 0.3 percent, the U.S. Labor Department said on Wednesday.

Both figures exceeded market expectations and bolstered the view that the Federal Reserve will probably not cut interest rates in the near future.

Investors also sensed a hawkish tone on inflation in the minutes of the Fed's last meeting in January, published on Wednesday, which undermined traders' dovish interpretation of remarks to Congress by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke last week.

"Since the Fed still hasn't changed its stance of remaining on guard against inflation, the market is sensitive to inflation- related data," said Junji Kojima, senior deputy manager for Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.'s global securities investment department.

But Kojima said he thought the surprisingly steep rise in CPI in January may have been an aberration, and the tone of the Fed minutes did not seem to differ all that much from Bernanke's comments last week.

"I don't think this will lead to a bearish trend in the market," Kojima said, adding that Treasuries were likely to be stuck in range-trading.

Some analysts took the consumer price data with a grain of salt, noting that a jump in tobacco prices may have boosted core prices.

March 10-year note futures dipped 1/32 to 107-18/32 TYc1 as of 0253 GMT.

The benchmark 10-year yield stood at 4.700 percent US10YT=RR, little changed from 4.696 percent in late U.S. trading on Wednesday.

Events due later in the session include the release of the weekly U.S. jobless claims report and the Treasury's auction of $13 billion worth of five-year notes.

The number of first-time applicants for jobless benefits is predicted to have dropped to 325,000 last week after spiking to 357,000 the previous week, according to a Reuters survey. The report is due at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT).

That unexpected jump in claims, attributed to a cold snap in some parts of the country, sparked a rally in government bond prices last Thursday.