Bond Prices Drift Down; Phone Issue Due: Heavy Calendar
Prices of bonds and similar fixed-income securities drifted down this past weekÛÓand interest rates edged upÛÓas the credit markets waited out the traditional Christmas-to-New YearÛªs Day doldrums.</br></br>Dealers were more inclined to speculate about the course of interest rates in 1971ÛÓand in the next few months, especiallyÛÓthen to buy or sell. Trading was very quiet, with no major new issues being offered.</br></br>Buyers were largely absent, too, waiting for a resumption of the flow of attractive, top-name offerings in January. Even scattered selling, therefore, was enough to bring mark-downs in the - prices of Treasury bonds and notes.</br></br>Certainly, some easing had to be expected in the wake of the sharp price run-ups of November and early December. Further, dealer inventories of governments are high, at a time when a refinancing operation that will add to the supply of longer-term issues is less than three weeks away.</br></br>down three-quarters of a point over the past weekÛÓto 73%. Their yield edged up a negligible 5 hundredths of a percentage pointÛÓto a shade below 6% per cent that is still nearly three-quarters of a percentage point below last summerÛªs peak.