Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Tide turning for bonds after RBI's liquidity bonanza, signs of recovery

 

The expectations are for the 10-year yield to drop further to 5.75%, a level last seen in July, according to a median estimate of 15 traders surveyed by Bloomberg.



India’s sovereign bonds are turning a corner as a supply overhang dissipates following a raft of liquidity measures from the central bank. Early signs of economic revival are also spurring hopes of an improvement in government finances.

The yield on India’s benchmark 10-year bond fell about 13 basis points over the past month to 5.9%, making it Asia’s best performer, with the bulk of its decline coming in after the Reserve Bank of India announced steps including doubling the size of its bond purchases in a policy address last week.

The expectations are for the 10-year yield to drop further to 5.75%, a level last seen in July, according to a median estimate of 15 traders surveyed by Bloomberg. That’s compared to forecasts of around 6% just two weeks ago amid concern that the administration may further hike its 12 trillion rupees ($163.8 billion) bond sale target for the year.

“The RBI in one shot has cleared all the uncertainty about the heavy borrowing program and we could see bonds gaining from here on,” said Anoop Verma, senior vice president at DCB Bank Ltd. in Mumbai.

Bonds were primed for gains even before the RBI announcement as data showed a manufacturing index rose to the highest in more than eight years, while goods and services revenues improved, spurring optimism the government may not increase its borrowing target further after a 54% hike in May. The government said in late September it will leave its October to March issuance plan unchanged at 4.34 trillion rupees.

However, the RBI still faced ire from bond traders for not doing enough to shoulder the government’s unprecedented debt issuance.

 

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