On March 29, government debt prices rose with benchmark yields hovering at lows of two weeks after data on jobless claims undercut optimism that the U.S. jobs market is gaining traction.

Bids ahead of a $29 billion auction of seven-year notes were also revived by nagging jitters about the euro zone's fiscal woes and the perception that the Federal Reserve may opt for more stimulus to help economy of the United States.

New jobless claims fell to a fresh four-year low last week, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

"So you haven't seen as much improvement on the firing side as you had previously thought," Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets in New York, said of the jobless claims revisions.

"The data in the U.S. have started to disappoint in the past two weeks," said Anthony Valeri, fixed income strategist at LPL Financial in San Diego, which has about $330 billion of advisory and brokerage assets.

"We had a bit of a disappointing five-year. This (the seven-year auction) could be a bit of a hurdle for the market," LPL's Valeri said.