S.Korean bonds continue to climb on rate cut hopes

SEOUL, Jan 6 (Reuters) - South Korean government bond prices rose again early on Tuesday as hopes for further rate cuts whetted investor appetite for debt instruments.

The Bank of Korea is widely expected to cut the base rate of a record-low 3.00 percent by 50 basis points on Friday, even after already slashing it by 250 basis points since early October, as the global financial storm has quickly sapped the strength of Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The yield on benchmark 5-year treasury bonds KR5YT=KSDA fell 3 basis points to 3.71 percent while March treasury bond futures KTBc1 were 17 ticks higher at 112.93 as of 0036 GMT. (Reporting by Seo Eun-kyung; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)