Bond yields edged lower on Thursday, tracking a slide in U.S. Treasury yields after President Donald Trump said he preferred a low Federal funds rate. However, there was some cautiousness too with the report that Industrial production shrank 1.2% in February against a 3.3% rise in January, while Consumer inflation accelerated to 3.81% in March largely due to increased fuel prices. The decline in Industrial production was broad-based with manufacturing contracting 2%, mining reporting a 3.3% rise in February and electricity generation remaining stagnant at 0.3%.
In the global market, U.S. Treasury yields fell on Wednesday with benchmark yields hitting a near five-month low, prompted by comments by U.S. President Donald Trump on favoring low interest rates made in a newspaper interview published in late U.S. trading. Furthermore, Crude oil futures slid for a second session, moving away from a one-month high touched briefly in the last session as rising U.S. production stoked worries about global oversupply.
Back home, the yields on new 10 year Government Stock were trading 2 basis points lower at 6.76% from its previous close of 6.78% on Wednesday.
The benchmark five-year interest rates were trading 2 basis points lower at 6.95% from its previous close of 6.97% on Wednesday.