Some bond strategists said the recent rate spike is only the beginning.

"The Fed is saying that I am not going to make this worse," said William Cunningham, the corporate bond strategist at Chase Securities.

The bride, 26, is a corporate bond strategist at Lehman Brothers in New York.

Dennis Adler, the corporate bond strategist at Citigroup, acknowledged the headwinds.

"You have to acknowledge there is a fundamental trend," said Cesar Molinas, the chief European bond strategist at Merrill Lynch in London.

"We're back in action as an alternative to the wonderful world of equities," Jack Malvey, chief global bond strategist for Lehman Brothers, predicted.

Josh Stiles, senior bond strategist at the consulting firm I.D.E.A., said he saw no change in market sentiment as a result of the weaker-than-expected price report.

"It was oversold," said Richard Gilhooly, a senior bond strategist at Paribas.

But the current environment of stable to slowly rising interest rates is ideal, said Kenneth Hackel, chief United States bond strategist at Merrill Lynch.

Paola Lamedica, a bond strategist with Paribas in London, called the volume "above any realistic expectation," despite a slump since August, when global markets plunged.