Treasurys Fall after Wachovia Loss, Higher Retail Sales

Wachovia Corp., the fourth largest U.S. bank, reported an unexpected loss, raising concerns that other major banks may still have more writedowns to reveal. Wachovia said it would need to strengthen its finances by cutting back on its shareholder dividend and seeking to raise $7 billion from investors.

However a report from the U.S. Commerce department noted that that retail sales rose unexpectedly in March. Sales were up by 0.2 after a 0.4 drop in February. Analysts and economists were expecting no growth. Increased spending was attributed to higher gasoline prices.

Two year treasury notes were down 1/32 in price to yield 1.762 at 5:22 p.m. in New York. Ten-year notes were down 10/32 to yield 3.513.

Tomorrow, a the U.S. Labor department will issue its report on producer prices, with the index expected to show an increase of 0.6 percent in March after an 0.3 percent rise in February, according to a survey of economists from Reuters.

The consumer price index results, to be released Wednesday, are expected to show no growth for February, according to a Reuters survey.