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UK government borrowing costs rose on Friday but remained below Thursday's peak as investors awaited the key US jobs report later in the day.
The yield on 10-year government bonds rose 0.03 percentage points to 4.84 percent, but was still below the 4.93 percent level it touched on Thursday, which was the highest since 2008. Yields move inversely with prices.
The pound sterling fell 0.2 percent against the dollar to $1.229.
Government bonds suffered in recent sessions amid a global rise in government bond yields, driven by stable inflation in some major economies.
Analysts said closely watched US jobs data for December, due later on Friday, would help push the trend in bond yields, including government bonds.
The UK has been particularly hit by the global sell-off, as investors worry about large government borrowing needs and the growing threat of stagflation, which combines weak growth with persistent price pressures.
The credibility of the government's economic plans is at risk in the bond market after Chancellor Rachel Reeves left herself just £9.9bn of leeway against her revised fiscal rules in last year's Autumn Budget.
Since then, increases in government bond yields have put the budget's room for evasion under threat. The level of bond yields is an important factor in determining the size of the budget, due to its effects on the government’s interest bill, which exceeds 100 billion pounds sterling annually.
Labor sought to reassure investors this week, with Darren Jones, Britain's second-in-command to the Treasury, telling MPs on Thursday that the government was committed to “economic stability and sound public finances”.
