Govt bonds surge most since 2013 as PM Modi surprises on borrowing

Traders in the embattled Indian sovereign bond market finally have something to cheer.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in a surprise move announced it would auction just 48 percent of its planned annual bond sales in the first six months of the financial year starting April 1. That’s less than the 60 percent to 65 percent it typically raised in previous years. The size of the annual debt sale was also cut by Rs 500 billion ($7.7 billion). The yield on the benchmark debt plunged 29 basis points, the biggest slide since November 2013, to 7.33 percent Tuesday.

Lower bond