31.   Comments from Bank of Canada Gov. Gordon Thiessen in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan a day later indicating the bank may raise rates again soon also helped bonds.

32.   Elsewhere, bonds were helped by news that rates were cut in Denmark and Sweden.

33.   Expectations that the limp economy will keep inflation low and permit cuts in interest rates helped German bonds, which rebounded temporarily after the output report was released.

34.   Expectations that slowing economies in Asia will lessen demand for U.S. exports, curbing growth and inflation, also helped bonds.

35.   Falling stock prices also helped bonds, traders said, as investors sold their equity holdings for safer, fixed-income securities.

36.   Falling stock prices often help bonds by leading some investors to flee equities in favor of relatively safe fixed-income investments.

37.   Expectations that the Swedish central bank will continue cutting its key interest rates also helped bonds.

38.   Falling share prices often help bonds, tempting investors to look for stable returns in fixed-income securities.

39.   Fukashiro said bonds were helped after Matsushita said the economic recovery is not yet self-sustaining and that support for the economy from public works spending is declining.

40.   Government efforts to narrow the budget gap also ought to help bonds next year, investors said.