U.S. sells 7-yr debt at record-low yield; bonds up ( 10_YEAR 7_YEAR ) (by Deborah Levine)

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The Treasury Department sold $29 billion in 7-year notes (7_year) on Thursday at a yields of 1.075%, the lowest level on record. Bidders offered to buy 2.64 times the amount of debt sold, compared to an average of 2.87 times at the last four sales of 7-year debt, according to CRT Capital Group. Indirect bidders, a group which includes foreign central banks, bought 42%, compared with 41.4% of sales, on average. Direct bidders, a group which includes domestic money managers, purchased another 6.5%, versus an average of 16.5%. After the auction, the last of the week, the broader bond market rebounded after briefly paring the decline. Yields on 10-year notes (10_year) : which move inversely to prices, fell 5 basis points to 1.58%.