Selling Sweeps Global Government Bonds, Pushing U.S. 10-Year Yield Above 1.8%
Better-than-expected U.K. economic growth and Bank of Japan governor's comments drive investors
By Min Zeng Updated Oct. 27, 2016 3:54 p.m. ET
The weekslong selloff in global government bonds gained momentum on Thursday, sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note to its highest in nearly five months.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note settled at 1.843%, up from 1.79% on Wednesday. Yields rise as bond prices fall.
Some traders say the yield could retest the 2% mark again if the higher yield momentum intensifies. The most-recent time the yield traded above 2% was in March. Some investors say yields around 2% would be appealing to buy, as they don’t expect yields to rise sharply in a soft-growth world.
Two factors drove investors to shed holdings on Thursday: The pace of economic growth in the U.K. last quarter beat economists’ forecasts, soothing concerns over the fallout from the Brexit vote in late June. And Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said “it would not be strange” for long-term bond yields to rise.
Government bond yields have been climbing, after plunging to historically low levels during the summer, highlighting the market’s vulnerability at a time when their valuations have been stretched. The yield has been up by 0.24 percentage point in October.
The rise in yields reflects diminishing demand on haven bonds as global data have pointed to some improvement in economic growth and an uptick in inflation. But higher yields raise mortgage rates and tighten financial conditions.
In addition, the risk, say analysts, is that if the higher yield momentum accelerates from here, it could rattle riskier assets such as stocks as government bond yields are the benchmark to price valuations of riskier assets.
“The rise in bond yields is healthy for now, but central banks don’t want to see a sharp rise which would hurt the outlook of this unspectacular economic growth,” said Jason Evans, co-founder of hedge fund NineAlpha Capital LP in New York. Mr. Evans said he has wagered on higher yields but has refrained from aggressive bets, citing uncertainty surrounding the U.S. presidential election in early November.
The combination of low global growth, subdued inflation and ultraloose monetary policy among major central banks has been sending bond yields to unprecedented levels. Yet over the past few weeks, the narrative has appeared to shift.
Concerns have been growing over less support for the bond market from central banks in Japan and Europe, as their bond buying is reaching their limits. Economists and analysts have started talking about a shift toward fiscal stimulus to combat low growth. Such fiscal action typically raises the supply of government debt for funding and is seen as a negative for long-term government bonds.
“There is increasing chatter about a pivot away from monetary stimulus to fiscal stimulus,” Bill Irving, portfolio manager at Fidelity Investments, which had $2.1 trillion in assets under management at the end of September.
Mr. Irving cautioned that the prospect of heavy fiscal spending might not pan out if the U.S. election leads to a divided government. For the moment, “the market sentiment has clearly shifted [toward higher inflation], and I think this could have some momentum,” he said.
Inflation expectations are rising, also driven by a rally in crude oil prices this month and comments from major central banks to tolerate inflation slightly above their desired targets.
The 10-year break-even rate, or the yield premium investors demand to hold a 10-year Treasury note relative to the 10-year Treasury inflation protected security, reached 1.73 percentage point on Thursday, the highest level of the year. It has been rising from a recent low of 1.36 percentage point in June.
The current level suggests investors expect a U.S. inflation rate of 1.73% on average over the next 10 years. Some analysts say the break-even rate has room to rise toward the Fed’s 2% target.
Inflation chips away at the fixed returns on bonds and is the main threat to long-term government bonds. Investors have been selling Treasurys to buy TIPS this month, suggesting growing demand for inflation protection.
The selling in global government bonds this month underscores the risk that bondholders may be prone to abrupt and large capital losses if investors exit holdings in droves at the same time.
Still, yields remain at very low levels. The 10-year Treasury yield has risen from its record close low of 1.366% made in July, but it traded at 2.273% at the end of 2015.
Many investors are still hesitant to declare that the superlong cycle of low yields has ended. The 10-year yield has been falling since hitting a record high of around 18% in 1981.
“The ultralow yield cycle may be nearing an end, but yields should not be able to rise sustainably” given the aging demographic, still subpar economic growth and the Fed’s shallow path in raising rates, said Christopher Sullivan, who oversees $2.3 billion as chief investment officer at the United Nations Federal Credit Union in New York. “I think yields around or approaching 2% should be bought,” he said.
Write to Min Zeng at
min.zeng@wsj.com