S.Korean bonds edge up on fin min, China

SEOUL, March 15 (Reuters) - South Korean bonds extended gains early on Monday, lifted by the finance minister's reported remarks on an exit strategy and China playing down rate hike fears.

Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun was quoted by a local newspaper as saying that the authorities would not introduce any major exit strategy from economic and financial stimuli at least until November this year.

Investors also found relief from Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan's comments on Sunday that China's inflation in February was higher than expected, but not by enough to force a change in strategy.

March treasury bond futures were up 4 ticks at 111.55 as of 0024 GMT, adding to a 77-tick gain last week, ahead of their maturity on Tuesday.

The benchmark 5-year treasury bond yield fell 1 basis points to 4.38 percent while the 10-year bond yield declined 1 basis point to 4.83 percent, with investors shrugging off the planned auction of 1.6 trillion won ($1.42 billion) in 10-year bonds on Monday.

(Reporting by Seo Eun-kyung; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

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