NEW YORK (AP) — Treasury prices ended higher Friday after the Federal Reserve reported that output at the nation's factories is slowing.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note rose 41 cents for every $100 invested Friday. Its yield fell to 1.60 percent from 1.64 percent late Thursday.
The Fed reported that U.S. factories produced less in May than in April. Separately, a survey showed factory activity in the New York region fell in June.
Investors are also buying U.S. government debt out of fear that the European debt crisis could worsen. On Thursday, the Treasury Department auctioned 30-year bonds at a yield of 2.72 percent, the lowest on record.
Investors continued buying 30-year Treasury bonds Friday. The price rose 59 cents for every $100 invested. That pushed down the yield on bonds already in circulation down to 2.69 percent from 2.74 percent.
Worries about a Greek election on Sunday have sent European government borrowing rates mostly higher this week. Investors worry the election could hand power to politicians that reject the strict terms of the country's bailout by its European neighbors. The fear is a victory could lead Greece to leave the euro, freezing lending markets and putting the future of the 17-country currency union in doubt.
On Friday, European borrowing costs fell on expectations that central banks around the world were ready to pump money into the global financial system if markets became distressed by the possibility of a Greek exit from the euro.
The yield on the 10-year Italian government bond fell 0.14 percentage point to 5.79 percent. The yield on the French 10-year bond fell 0.10 point to 2.47 percent.
German and Spanish government bond yields also fell slightly.
The yield on the two-year Treasury note fell to 0.28 percent from 0.30 percent. The three-month T-bill paid a yield of 0.09 percent, down from 0.10 percent.
