South Korea bonds tick down as foreigners sell futures

SEOUL: South Korean government bond prices fell slightly on Wednesday as foreign selling in futures trading soured buying sentiment amid caution over still uncertain direction in US Federal Reserve policy.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds ended up 0.1 basis point at 3.635 percent. Lead December futures on three-year treasury bonds finished down 0.03 point at 105.49.

Foreign investors were net sellers in futures trading for 489.5 billion won ($461.81 million), up from their net selling worth 52.2 billion won on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok dismissed a local newspaper report that cited an unnamed ministry official as saying there was a need for policymakers to consider an interest rate cut to avert deflation.