By Miriam Mukuru and Renae Dyer
U.K. government bond yields rose on Friday after Labour's Andy Burnham won a special district election, clearing the way for him to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Some investors see Burnham as a less market-friendly alternative to Starmer. They worry that, as leader, Burnham could favor increased public spending, higher taxes and possibly more government debt. Figures released Friday showed another increase in borrowing by the U.K.
Yields on 10-year government bonds, known as gilts, advanced 6.9 basis points to 4.813% in early morning trade, Tradeweb data showed.
"Burnham's policies seem likely to result in more government borrowing, in our opinion," RBC Wealth Management said in a note.
