Bond yields rise slightly in April amid expectations of higher oil prices, inflationary pressure

SEOUL, May 12 (Yonhap) -- Yield rates on South Korean state bonds rose slightly in April from the previous month amid expectations of rising oil prices and inflationary pressure, market data showed Tuesday. The yield on three-year Treasurys came to 3.595 percent as of the end of April, up 4.3 basis points from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA). The return on the benchmark 10-year government bonds also gained 4.4 basis points to 3.923 percent over the cited period. In April, prices of state bonds, which move inversely to yields, got off a strong start as South Korea began phased inclusion in the World Government Bond Index, a key global bond benchmark run by FTSE Russell, but pared gains after talks by the United States and Iran to end the war in the Middle East stalled. With oil prices rising, inflationary pressure had also weighed on yield rates, according to KOFIA. Bond sales totaled 98.5 trillion won (US$66.2 billion) as of end-April, up 700 billion won from the previous month, the data showed. An illustration depicting South Korea's state bonds (Yonhap) kdh@yna.co.kr(END)