India bonds search for direction, state debt auction may provide some clues

MUMBAI: Indian government bonds were broadly unchanged in early deals on Tuesday as investors awaited the state debt sale and the central bank’s debt purchase for further cues.

The benchmark 10-year yield was at 6.5924% as of 10:00 a.m. IST.

It ended at 6.5931% on Monday. Bond yields rise when prices fall.

Indian states will aim to raise 178.50 billion rupees ($1.97 billion) later in the day through the sale of bonds with maturities of four- to 30-years.

“We are in for consolidation for a couple of sessions. Unless there is major surprise in state debt cutoffs, we may not see any big moves in the 10-year part of the yield curve,” a trader with a primary dealership said.

Separately, the Reserve Bank of India is scheduled to buy bonds worth 500 billion rupees on Thursday, which will include the former benchmark 6.33% 2035 note.

Last week, the central bank purchased a similar quantum of bonds at higher-than-estimated prices, which resulted in a brief price rally.

The RBI’s bond buying for this financial year has already hit a record high, with markets anticipating 1-2 trillion rupees of purchases in the last quarter.

Following a rate cut by the RBI on December 5, bond yields have been facing upward pressure on bets that the easing cycle is over, while supply worries have taken centre-stage.

Meanwhile, profit booking by foreigners ahead of the calendar year-end has also been weighing on bonds.

Foreign investors sold the highest quantum of global index-linked bonds in over six months last week.