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BlackRock has rolled out two currency-hedged share classes for its French government bond ETF listed in Europe.

French government bonds are currently rated AA with a stable outlook, according to Standard & Poor’s.

The iShares France Govt Bond UCITS ETF, which houses €310 million (approx. $300m) in assets under management, is now available with GBP-hedging on London Stock Exchange (FRGP LN) and with USD-hedging on Euronext Amsterdam (IFRD NA).

Both new listings come with expense ratios of 0.22%, two basis points higher than the fund’s original, euro-denominated share classes (IFRB LN; IFRB NA) which cost 0.20%.

The ETF is linked to the Bloomberg France Treasury Bond Index which consists of fixed-rate, euro-denominated sovereign bonds issued by the government of France. Eligible bonds are sourced from across the yield curve.

French government bonds currently hold a credit rating of AA with a stable outlook, according to Standard & Poor’s.

As of 6 October, the index was exhibiting a yield to maturity of 2.41% and an effective duration of 7.67 years. All four of the ETF’s share classes distribute income to investors on a semi-annual basis.

Amid rapidly rising interest rates as central banks worldwide seek to tame runaway inflation, the index has sunk 16.7% year-to-date. Bond prices move inversely to interest rates.