Treasury prices inched higher Friday, putting benchmark government debt on track for its best week in four months.   The 10-year Treasury note (10_YEAR) yield, which falls as prices rise, was down 1 basis point at 2.523%, according to Tradeweb. The yield is set to fall for its fifth consecutive session, marking a 10 basis point weekly drop. That’s the biggest fall since mid-March, according to FactSet.

Treasury prices continued to drift higher Friday morning, despite an easing of fears related to Portugal’s largest bank, Banco Espirito Santo, which had sent global tremors through markets on Thursday.

The rise was attributed in part to reports of large overnight buyers out of Asia, geopolitical conflict, and expectations that the Federal Reserve would continue to keep its key lending rates low, strategists said.

Data showed that primary dealers sold $29.5 billion of Treasurys in the week ended last Wednesday, matching the largest selling on record, according to CRT Capital Group.

The 30-year bond (30_YEAR) yield fell 1.5 basis points to 3.349% and the 5-year note (5_YEAR) yield was unchanged at 1.650%.

Fed officials took differing views on inflation Friday. Charles Evans, president of the Chicago Fed Bank, said that inflation is likely to stay below the 2% target for a “few years,” in a television interview. Meanwhile, Charles Plosser, president of the Fed Bank of Philadelphia, said that inflation numbers, which show a drift higher, are not noise.

By Ben Eisen, MarketWatch