Hedge funds shift to bearish bets on treasury 10-year notes

Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators held a net-short position in 10-year note futures for the first time in almost two months amid speculation Federal Reserve officials may taper the pace of asset purchases.

They moved to the bearish wagers in the week ending May 14 for the first time since March 22, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. Specu-lative short positions, or bets prices will fall, outnumbered long positions by 11,153 contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade. The previous week, traders were net-long 37,956 contracts. The yield on the 10-year note has risen for three consecutive weeks, from 1.66 per cent on April 26, in the longest stretch of increases since December.