MUMBAI: Indian government bond yields were marginally up on Friday, as cautious traders refrained from making fresh bets after a sharp spike in the previous session, while awaiting fresh supply through weekly debt auction.
The benchmark 10-year yield was at 7.4838% as of 0455 GMT.
The yield ended eight basis points higher at 7.4829% on Thursday and also posted its biggest single-session rise since Oct. 6.
“Sentiment is tilted towards the bears, and the crucial 7.50% level for the benchmark would be keenly watched, while cutoffs could act as next trigger,” a trader with a primary dealership said.
New Delhi will raise 300 billion Indian rupees ($3.63 billion) through sale of bonds, which includes liquid five-year and 14-year bonds later in the day.
The yield on 14-year has risen above 7.60% level before the supply.
The supply comes on the heels of a sharp move in yields on Thursday, tracking similar trend observed in US yields overnight. The 10-year US yield was trading at 4.14%, while the two-year yield which is a more direct indicator of interest rate expectations, was above 4.70%.
Indian bond yields rise tracking US peers on Fed’s hawkish tone
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points, and chair Jerome Powell said its battle against inflation will require borrowing costs to rise further, taking a more hawkish tone than what the market had anticipated.
The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee met on Thursday to discuss the bank’s report to the government, for having failed to meet its inflation targets for three straight quarters for the first time since it was set up in 2016.
The committee is mandated to keep inflation within 2 percentage points on either side of its 4% target. Retail inflation has remained above 6% since January and accelerated in September to a five-month high of 7.41%.