South Korea Credit Rout May Bode Well for Government Bonds

  • Credit crisis, weaker exports among reasons for BOK pivot
  • Three-year bond yield may fall below 4% near term: Shinyoung

The Bank of Korea headquarters in Seoul, South Korea.

Photographer: Jean Chung/Bloomberg
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The outlook for South Korea’s beaten down government bonds is improving, as a credit crunch and weakening growth argue for a slower pace of monetary tightening.

The yield on benchmark three-year bonds has risen more than 220 basis points this year, as the Bank of Korea enacted its most aggressive rate-hike campaign in generations. After touching a 13-year high in September, it has since fallen about half a percentage point to 4.04% as the local corporate debt crisis unfolded.