Mini rally in India bond prices to pause as US yields surge

08 Jan, 2025

MUMBAI: The mini rally in Indian bond prices, which dragged the 10-year government bond yield to a three-week low, is set to halt on Wednesday as US yields jumped following robust labor and services data.

The 10-year bond yield is likely to move between 6.74% and 6.78%.

The yield had dropped to a three-week low of 6.73% on Tuesday, before ending at 6.7483%.

For yields to fall significantly from the current level “conditions need to be much more helpful” than what they are, a fixed-income trader at a bank said.

“I am sitting on a core position which is not big. (I) will simply be holding on to that and not add to it.”

US Treasuries sold off on Tuesday, lifting the 10-year yield to an eight-month high, following data that indicated a healthy labour market and an acceleration in services activity.

US job openings in November rose more than expected and a gauge of US services accelerated in December, sending the 10-year yield to 4.70%.

India bond yields to push higher after US rates reverse decline

Current levels of US Treasury yields indicate significant worries on duration and are now consistent with expectations of a robust US economy, DBS Bank said in a note.

The data suggested the Federal Reserve’s forecast that it will cut rates only twice this year is likely to hold up.

The US central bank signalled a slower pace of rate cuts at its December meeting.

Interest rate futures are currently pricing in just one-and-half rate cuts in 2025.

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