U.S. Treasury prices held on to earlier losses on Thursday after of the U.S. Treasury Department's auction of five-year notes and seven-year debt and after the release of upbeat data on U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter.
The fall came following a bond market rally on Wednesday that was encouraged by a selloff of Wall Street stocks after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would further reduce its stimulative bond-purchase program.
The Treasury Department auctioned $35 billion of 5-year notes at a yield of 1.572 percent, and $29 billion in seven-year notes at a high yield of 2.190 percent. The bid-to-cover ratio, an indicator of demand, was 2.59 and 2.65 respectively.
Upbeat data on U.S. economic growth also kept Treasurys from extending Wednesday's rally.
Gross domestic product grew at a 3.2 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday, in line with economists' expectations but a far stronger performance than anticipated earlier in the quarter.
