Bond yield dips to 18-month low of 6.94% amid hope of RBI rate cut

India’s benchmark bond yield slid to an 18-month low as a slowing economy and falling oil prices intensified speculation that the central bank will cut rates more than once.

The yield on 10-year rupee sovereign debt fell as much as 9 basis points to 6.94 per cent after data late Friday showed gross domestic product rose 5.8 per cent last quarter from a year earlier. That was slower than the median 6.3 per cent estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Cooling crude prices further improved the outlook for inflation, which is already below the central bank’s target.

“A 25-basis point rate cut is