India’s 10-year G-Sec yield closed at 6.8709%, its highest level in more than two months, as investors prepared for a INR 280 billion government bond auction with more than half the borrowing through 15-year paper. Brent crude hovered near $94 a barrel, while RBI minutes indicated greater readiness to raise rates if inflation risks materialize. July retail inflation accelerated to 4.45%, above the RBI’s 4% medium-term target. Strong demand for HDFC Bank’s $1.75 billion dollar bond sale, which drew about $7 billion in orders, reflected banks’ efforts to use the RBI’s concessional funding window before the Aug. 31 deadline but provided little relief to government bond yields. Earlier support from lower US Treasury yields, bargain buying and $3.04 billion of foreign bond inflows in July was outweighed by supply, oil and monetary-policy concerns.