Iraqi Bonds Set for Worst Week in Year as Shiites Called to Arms - Bloomberg

Iraqi Bonds Set for Worst Week in Year as Shiites Called to Arms - Bloomberg:

"Iraqi bonds headed for their worst week in a year as Sunni Islamist fighters pushed further into the country and a report said a top Shiite cleric urged citizens to fight, stoking concern over escalating sectarian warfare.



The yield on January 2028 rose six basis points to 6.93 percent at 3:32 p.m. in London. It is up 55 basis points this week, the most since June 2013. Iraq’s army failed to upend extremist movement Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant from areas near Baghdad as fighters entered two northeast towns of Jalulah and Saaiydiyah, Al Jazeera reported.



Amid signs Sunni militants are pushing Iraq to another round of civil war, a representative of Shiite leader Ali Al Sistani called citizens to arms, according to Al-Mada Press. The violence across northern and central Iraq, three years after U.S. troops withdrew following the 2003 invasion, led Iraqi stocks to sink the most since at least 2009. President Barack Obama signaled he won’t rule out airstrikes to help OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer."



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