Vietnamese bonds advanced, pushing benchmark five-year yields to the lowest since October, on speculation demand will improve as debt redemptions boost cash in the financial system. The dong strengthened.

“A number of government bonds will mature later this month, so some people are pushing yields lower,” said Pham Phuong Lan, the Hanoi-based head of fixed-income and currency trading at the Bank for Investment & Development of Vietnam.

The yield on the benchmark five-year bonds retreated one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 12.37 percent, the lowest since Oct. 14, according to a daily fixing from banks compiled by Bloomberg.

The dong strengthened 0.2 percent to 20,970 per dollar, according to prices from banks compiled by Bloomberg. The State Bank of Vietnam fixed its daily reference rate at 20,828, unchanged from Dec. 26, according to its website. The currency is allowed to trade up to 1 percent on either side of the rate.

Vietnam’s trade deficit narrowed to $100 million last month, compared with a revised deficit of $269 million in December, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the General Statistics Office in Hanoi.