Foreign inflows into major Asian local-currency bond markets fell to a four-month low in July as an oil-price shock from the Middle East conflict prompted investor caution, regulators and bond-market associations said. Net foreign purchases of local bonds in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand totaled $2.03 billion in July, the smallest monthly net buy since March. IIF data showed emerging-market debt still drew $26.7 billion in July on high yields, improving fundamentals and di

Foreign inflows into major Asian local-currency bond markets fell to a four-month low in July as an oil-price shock from the Middle East conflict prompted investor caution, regulators and bond-market associations said. Net foreign purchases of local bonds in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand totaled $2.03 billion in July, the smallest monthly net buy since March. IIF data showed emerging-market debt still drew $26.7 billion in July on high yields, improving fundamentals and diversification demand, while EM equities saw $7.8 billion of outflows. Analysts and participants cited Asian economies’ sensitivity to rising energy costs as weighing on the region’s bond appeal.