US Treasuries lifted by huge foreign inflows
NEW YORK, March 15 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasuries inched cautiously higher on on Tuesday after a report on capital flows showed foreign private investors had turned aggressive buyers of U.S. debt in January.
The Treasury International Capital, or TICS, data showed net private foreign purchases of Treasuries jumped to $23.2 billion in January from just $1.4 billion the month before. In contrast, traders were disappointed that net foreign official purchases rose only slightly to $7.6 billion.
Still, overall net inflows were a huge $91.5 billion in January, which analysts felt should ease concerns that the United States might have trouble attracting enough foreign money to fund its trade deficit.
The 10-year Treasury note <US10YT=RR> firmed 8/32 in price, lowering its yield to 4.48 percent from 4.51 percent late on Monday. Yields on the two-year note <US2YT=RR> held at 3.73 percent.