MUMBAI: Indian government bond yields were marginally higher in early session on Friday, as traders waited for fresh supply of debt through a weekly auction, while sentiment remained cautious amid fears of an impending US recession.

The benchmark 10-year bond yield was at 7.2797% as of 10:00 a.m. IST after ending higher at 7.2676% on Thursday.

New Delhi aims to raise 300 billion rupees this week ($3.63 billion) through the sale of bonds, which includes 110 billion rupees of a new 14-year paper.

Indian bond yields dip after easing US inflation brings US yields down

Caution has set in bond markets, with traders not willing to go heavy with the calendar year-end approaching, a trader with a private bank said, adding that auction cutoffs would be the key drivers for rest of the month.

Bond yields had eased for the first three days of this week, but reversed course on Thursday, after the US Federal Reserve said it will deliver more hikes next year.

The Fed raised rates by 50 basis points (bps) on Wednesday taking its quantum of total hikes 425 bps in 2022, and is projected to continue pushing them above 5% in 2023.

The Reserve Bank of India has hiked its interest rate by 225 bps in 2022 to 6.25%.

India’s retail inflation eased below the key upper tolerance level of 6% in November after remaining above it for 10 months.

However, with core inflation still above 6%, the RBI may be forced to opt for another 25-bps hike in February, economists have said.