10-year Treasury yield touches highest in a year, Japan's 30-year yield rises to a record
Global bond yields rose on Monday as fears of resurgent inflation grip financial markets.
A trader works during the Hawkeye 360 Inc. initial public offering (IPO) on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Thursday, May 7, 2026.
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U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Monday, taking a breather after global bond rout that sent them sharply higher last week.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield — the key benchmark for U.S. government borrowing — was less than 1 basis point lower at 4.591%. Earlier in the day, it hit its highest level in 15 months.
The longer-dated 30-year Treasury bond yield, which is more sensitive to political risks, also fell less than 1 basis point to 5.123%. It hit its highest level in almost a year last week. The 2-year Treasury note yield, which tends to react in line with short-term Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, slipped less than a basis point to 4.075%.
One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Treasury yields soared last week as the outlook on negotiations between the U.S. and Iran dampened, raising inflation fears as oil prices remain elevated. On top of that, new U.S. data showed upward price pressures are beginning to filter down to the consumer.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined G7 colleagues and central bankers in Paris on Monday, as fresh concerns over inflation and public debt weigh on global bond markets.
Asked whether she is worried about bond market volatility, President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde said: "I always worry, that's my job."
The latest spike in yields isn't exclusive to the U.S., either. Yields on 10-year German bunds rose more than 2 basis points to reach 3.1827%, while Japan's 10-year JGB surged 13 basis points to reach 2.739%. The Japanese 30-year yield reached its highest level ever.
In the U.K., yields on 10-year Gilts, the benchmark for British government debt, eased slightly. Yields were lower by about 1 basis point in early dealmaking, but remain elevated at 5.169% amid uncertainty over the fate of Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The 30-year Gilt yield was about 3 basis points lower at 5.818%.
With the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict front and center of the G7 summit, central bankers now face a tightrope on interest rates, said Will Hobbs, chief investment officer at Brooks Macdonald.
"Inflation is going to be a tricky, annoying problem for central banks and bond investors," Hobbs told told CNBC's 'Europe Early Edition' Monday.
Oil prices were relatively unchanged Monday, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, trading around $109 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were last seen trading at $105 per barrel.
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