Thai bond yield falls

Thai bond yield falls

Thailand's bonds gained, pushing the five-year yield down by the most in more than a week, after US employment data eased concern the Federal Reserve will accelerate its stimulus reduction.

American employers hired 74,000 workers in December, the least since January 2011, according to data released by the Labour Department.

Global funds pulled a net US$96 million from Thai bonds and $34 million from equities on Jan 10, official data show, before anti-government demonstrators began blocking major roads in Bangkok on Monday, disrupting traffic and increasing pressure on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to resign.

The yield on the 3.875 percent sovereign debt due June 2019 fell five basis points, or 0.05 percentage point, to 3.43% as of 3.47pm, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That's the biggest decline since Jan 2.

"Investors don't have to reshuffle positions to price in a faster reduction in US stimulus and that's supporting regional assets for now,'' said Pareena Phuangsiri, an analyst at Kasikornbank Plc. "But investors are still cautious on Thai assets as political unrest continues.''

The baht was little changed at 32.996 per dollar, data compiled by Bloomberg show. One-month implied volatility in the currency, a measure of expected moves in the exchange rate used to price options, fell 11 basis points to 7.14%.

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