Speculators pare bets on u. S. Bonds after jobs data

NEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Bond speculators pared theirbullish bets on U.S. Treasuries futures early this week afterSeptember payroll data showed the jobless rate fell to itslowest since

January 2009, according to Commodity FuturesTrading Commission data released on F rid ay. The unexpected drop in unemployment last month spurredskepticism whether it was a statistical quirk

or sustainable.Nonetheless, it pared expectations the Federal Reserve mightpursue more bond purchases, which would boost the value ofTreasuries futures. The September payroll report sparked

a sell-off in bonds inthe cash and futures market last Friday, with benchmark yieldstouching a three-week high. Early this week, speculative long positions in 10-yearTreasury futures fell to

296,868 contracts on Oct 9, down 38,043from a week earlier, according to CFTC's latest Commitments ofTraders data. Speculative short bets in 10-year Treasury futures rose5,457, to

178,678 in the latest week. The long positions in 10-year T-notes retreated from theirhighest level since early 2008, analysts said. "Despite the correction, the market remains

aggressivelypositioned in the 10-year space," Gennadiy Goldberg, an interestrate strategist at TD Securities, wrote in a research note. Speculative bets on the Chicago Board of

Trade's "ultra"bond contracts fell 6,460 to 36,374 contracts, while speculatorsshed their short positions on ultra bonds by 959, to 29,494, thelatest CFTC data showed. Bullish

bets on five-year, T-note futures fell 1,315contracts, to 307,322 on Tuesday, while bearish bets declined7,800, to 166,608, the latest Commitments of Traders datashowed. Speculative long

bets on two-year T-notes dropped 12,246contracts to 302,317, while speculators raised their bearishbets by 6,183, to 220,381 contracts. On the other hand, bullish bets that 30-year bond

futureswill rise increased by 11,334 contracts to 64,534 on Tuesday,while speculative bearish positions grew 5,542 to 65,362contracts. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Dan Grebler)

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