Treasury yields traded near multidecade highs Thursday as investor bets on another Federal Reserve rate hike mounted, extending a selloff across global bond markets.
The 30-year Treasury bond yield was down less than 1 basis point at 5.399%, after earlier reaching a 2004 peak of around 5.44%. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield, which is tied to mortgage rates, dropped more than 1 basis point to 5.10% but hit its highest level since July 2007 earlier in the session. The yield on the 2-year note fell more than 4 basis points to 4.854%, though it remained close to a 2023 high. One basis point equals 0.01%, and yields move inversely to prices.
Global bonds sold off as well. Japan's 10-year JGB yield rose to its highest since August 1996, while U.K. Gilts and German Bunds also climbed, with yields on several European bonds hitting fresh multi-year highs.
Thursday's moves build on a U.S. Treasury rout that occurred Wednesday, when the 10-year Treasury yield had its biggest one-day jump since April 7, 2025, as traders reacted to stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data, hawkish commentary from a Federal Reserve official, and high oil prices.
"The combination of fiscal, economic, geopolitical, and supply-side inflation pressures converging has bond markets in less familiar territory. The recent rise in yields can no longer be attributed simply to concerns over the deficit," said Mike Sanders, head of fixed income at Madison Investments.
