Why are short-term bonds in demand? Bondbazaar's Darak breaks it down

Bond market investors are looking beyond short-term geopolitical noise, anchored by strong domestic fundamentals, surplus liquidity, rate cuts and a dovish RBI

Bond yields on the 10-year Government securities have declined gradually so far in calendar year 2025. Despite inflation-related uncertainty due to the US President's tariff policies, SURESH DARAK, founder, Bondbazaar, tells Nikita Vashisht in an email interview that debt market investors remain constructively positive on bond market outlook. Edited excerpts:

How do you assess H1-2025 for bond markets and what does H2 look like?

Corporate Bonds and Sovereign Bonds witnessed a decline in yields in the first half of calendar year 2025 (H1-CY25). While 10-year Gsec declined 42 basis points in H1, the Corporate Bonds declined by ~70 bps -