By Cynthia Lin 

U.S. Treasury prices rose Wednesday as choppy global growth signals kept investors seeking out safer assets.

In early New York trading, benchmark 10-year notes increased 6/32 in price to yield 2.337%, according to Tradeweb. The 30-year bond gained 15/32 to yield 3.064%. Bond yields decline when prices rise.

Those gains came after a day off for the U.S. bond markets in observance of Veterans Day, and keep the market in a tight range established since the start of the month. Bond investors have had to balance between decent U.S. economic signals and uncertainties abroad, leaving the 10-year yield in a 2.27% to 2.40% range.

Overnight, the Bank of England reduced its growth and inflation outlook for the U.K., while Germany reported a downturn in wholesale prices for October. Meanwhile, the U.S. has shown continued progress in its labor-market recovery, with last Friday's employment report showing further job creation and a decline in the unemployment rate.

The balancing act required of bond investors was reflected in J.P. Morgan's latest weekly Treasury client survey. As of Nov. 10, the survey showed 24% of all its client accounts betting on lower Treasury prices, while 15% positioned for higher prices, for a net short of 9. Among just its active, more-speculative clients, however, positions swung into a net long of 8, the most since February.

Despite the historically low yields on U.S. Treasurys, bond traders say the array of global uncertainties are keeping the safe-haven bonds in demand. Their yields are also relatively attractive compared with other haven assets, such as the 10-year German bund, which last yielded 0.80%.

That is why some traders expect Wednesday afternoon's 10-year note auction to attract a decent crowd. The U.S. Treasury is scheduled to sell $24 billion in 10-year notes, with results due just after 1 p.m. EST.

Bond traders say the key to pushing U.S. rates higher is stronger signs of inflation. While many bond strategists have lowered their year-end 10-year yield forecasts to around 2.75%, that still suggests persistent selling from current levels over the remaining seven weeks in 2014.

Write to Cynthia Lin at cynthia.lin@wsj.com

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