Bond Yields India Today (Oct 12, 2026): 10-Year G-Sec Hits 7.39% Before RBI’s ₹25,000 Crore OMO Sale

Bond yields in India today climbed to their highest since March 2023. Government bond prices slid after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced fresh steps to pull cash out of the banking system, and the benchmark 10-year yield went from 7.2994% at Friday’s close to about 7.39% on Monday, October 12, 2026. In equities, rate-sensitive bank stocks led the fall.

Bond yields India today: how the day played out

The yield on the benchmark 6.94% government security maturing in 2036 opened at 7.3553% on Monday, according to Moneycontrol. By the end of the equity session, Capital Market had it at 7.388%. Yields and prices move in opposite directions, so a higher yield means the bonds lost value.

The trigger came on October 9. In an official press release, the RBI said it would sell government securities worth ₹25,000 crore through an open market operation (OMO) on October 13. Six securities maturing between 2030 and 2034 are on offer, with no fixed amount for any one of them. Bids are due between 9:30 am and 10:30 am, and the result comes out the same day.

The central bank also tightened the minimum daily cash reserve ratio (CRR) that banks must keep. From the fortnight starting October 16, banks need to hold 99% of the prescribed CRR each day, up from 90%. The CRR rate itself hasn’t changed.

The numbers that matter

• 10-year G-Sec yield: 7.3553% at the open and about 7.388% later in the day, against 7.2994% on Friday (Moneycontrol, Capital Market).
• Losing streak: yields are up for eight straight weeks. That includes about 9 basis points last week and around 45 basis points over the seven weeks before it.
• OMO sale: ₹25,000 crore on October 13. It comes after a ₹1 lakh crore OMO sale programme in September that ran in three tranches.
• Liquidity: the banking system was still in surplus by ₹3.92 lakh crore on Thursday, October 8, Moneycontrol reported, citing RBI data.
• Equities: the Nifty PSU Bank index lost 1.18%, and the Bank Nifty slipped 0.61% to 54,918.

How we got here: a rate hike, oil and inflation

The selling didn’t start on Monday. On October 7, the RBI raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% and moved its stance from neutral to “calibrated tightening”. Our explainer on how the RBI repo rate affects the stock market covers that decision. Moneycontrol noted that the 10-year yield was last at these levels in the previous tightening cycle, when it touched 7.46% in late February and early March 2023.

Inflation isn’t helping. MoSPI data released after market hours on Monday show CPI inflation jumped to 5.54% in September from 4.83% in August, with food inflation at 7.74%. Then there’s oil. Capital Market put Brent crude for December settlement at $105.60 a barrel.

Business Standard counted bond yields among the main reasons the Sensex gave up its early gains and closed 0.76% lower at 71,924.68. Geojit’s V K Vijayakumar told the paper that “elevated crude prices and high US bond yields will continue to impact the market.”

What this means for banks and equities

When yields rise, the government bonds on bank balance sheets lose value, and that can mean mark-to-market losses in their treasury books. PSU banks took a bigger hit than private lenders on Monday: Upstox data show Nifty Private Bank down only 0.37%.

For equity investors, a 10-year yield near 7.4% makes safe government bonds look better next to stocks. It also pushes up borrowing costs for companies. Treasury dealers told Moneycontrol they expect investors to stay away from longer-dated bonds until the rate path and the size of the liquidity withdrawal are clearer.

Tuesday’s OMO auction is the next test. Strong bids could steady the bond market, while a weak result could push yields toward the 2023 highs. Our Nifty prediction for October 13 has the equity levels to watch, and the Stock Market Today India hub has live updates.