UK gilt yields rise to 4-day high after strong GDP data

LONDON: British government bonds sold off on Friday after the release of stronger-than-expected second-quarter growth data boosted expectations for Bank of England interest rate rises, pushing 10-year yields to a four-day high.

Ten-year gilt yields rose as high as 4.434%, up more than 6 basis points (bps) on the day and their highest since Aug. 7.

Two-year gilt yields were up a similar amount to 4.957%, widening their spread over German two-year yields by about 2 bps.

Financial markets now see a 69% chance that the BoE will raise its main interest rate by a quarter-point to 5.5% next month, up slightly from Thursday.