CREDIT : Bond Prices Gain in Quiet Trading

Bond prices rose slightly in quiet trading Wednesday as government figures showed that personal income growth was in line with expectations.

The Treasury’s 30-year bond rose 1/32 point, or about 31 cents per $1,000 face amount, while its yield, which moves inversely to its price, dipped to just below 8.94% from 8.94% late Tuesday.

In the secondary market for Treasury bonds, prices of short-term governments rose 1/16 point, intermediate maturities were unchanged to 1/4 point higher and long-term issues were up 1/16 to 1/8 point, according to Telerate Inc., the financial information service.

The Shearson Lehman daily Treasury bond index, which measures price movements on all outstanding Treasury issues with maturities of a year or longer, rose 0.78 to 1,136.41.

In corporate trading, industrials were narrowly higher. Moody’s investment grade corporate bond index, which measures price movements on 80 corporate bonds with maturities of five years or longer, rose 0.13 to 294.47.

In the tax-exempt market, the Bond Buyer index of 40 actively traded municipal bonds rose 1/4 point to 90 30/32. The average yield to maturity fell to 7.80% from 7.83% late Tuesday.

Yields on three-month Treasury bills fell to 8.35% as the discount fell 8 basis points to 8.08%. Yields on six-month bills fell to 8.61% as the discount fell 9 basis points to 8.15%. Yields on one-year bills fell to 8.97% as the discount fell 2 basis points to 8.30%.

The federal funds rate, the interest on overnight loans between banks, traded at 8.75%, unchanged from late Tuesday.

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