U.K. Gilts Extend Declines as Inflation Exceeds Estimates, Deficit Widens

U.K. government bonds extended a decline after inflation accelerated at a faster pace than analysts estimated and Britain’s budget deficit unexpectedly widened.

The yield on the 10-year gilt rose seven basis points to 3.60 percent as of 9:33 a.m. in London and the two-year note also increased seven basis points, to 1.29 percent.

U.K. inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in more than two years in February, with consumer prices rising 4.4 percent from a year earlier, exceeding the 4.2 percent median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Net borrowing last month was 11.8 billion pounds ($19.3 billion) in February, compared with analyst estimates for 7.2 billion pounds.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lucy Meakin in London at lmeakin1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net