Many dealers were focused on a tussle in the options and futures markets, where the 10-year ¥114.00 option contract expired Friday.
Open interest in the calls was a hefty 83,270, meaning those on either side of the options had a considerable interest in seeing them end the day in or out of the money.
Late Friday, the cash 10-year US Treasury note edged down 1/32 at 100 and 23/32, putting its yield at 4.16 percent, up from 4.15 percent late on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the 10-year note's yield hit a fresh seven-week low at 4.11 percent -- a long way from the 4.45 percent highs seen in early November.
The 30-year bond slipped 3/32 to 105 and 9/32, while its yield was at 5.02 percent, up a touch from 5.01 percent at Thursday's 5pm close. Earlier in the day, the bond's yield hit a seven-week low at 4.98 percent.
The two-year T-note ended the day down 1/32 at 99 and 20/32, while its yield was at 1.82 percent, up from 1.79 percent late Thursday in New York.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for January delivery, which became the new leading contract on Friday, settled at US$31.61 a barrel, down US$0.25. Traders decided to sell some energy futures and take some profits from gains earlier in the week, with the desire to make money overshadowing supply concerns stirred by the rocket attack on the Iraq Oil Ministry and Thursday's bomb attacks in Turkey.
In London, the blue-chip FTSE-100 index gained 11 points, or 0.26 percent, to 4,319.0. For the week, the FTSE-100 was down just marginally from its close last Friday at 4,397.0, which marked a 14-month closing high.
In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei average ended virtually flat at 9,852.83, a dip of 0.13 percent. For the week, the Nikkei was down 3.09 percent, its second week of declines.
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