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UK 30-year gilt yields surge to highest since 1998
The jump pushes borrowing costs higher for the government and threatens further pressure on mortgage rates, with the FTSE 100 falling 2%, Reuters reported.
On Thursday, UK Gilt yields reached 6.07% in morning trading, the highest level since 1998, as the worldwide bond market rout sent London's FTSE Index tumbling by 2%.
A global bond sell-off has driven Gilt yields to 6% for the first time in nearly 30 years, heaping pressure on Chancellor John Healey ahead of his inaugural Budget later this month.
Neil Wilson, Saxo investor strategist, said the "relentless rout in the bond market is sending investors running for cover," while Susannah Streeter, Wealth Club strategist, cited concerns about inflation and refinancing costs.
Markets tumbled across Europe, with Germany's Dax and France's Cac both off 1.3%, as Brent crude prices fell 2% to 99.9 dollars a barrel amid Middle East supply normalization.
Higher yields force the Government to pay more to finance debt, according to chief technical analyst Axel Rudolph at IG, complicating efforts to balance spending commitments with borrowing control.
(Berlin=Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Gye-yeon = Amid continuing global government bond selling pressure, the yield on UK 30-year government bonds surpassed 6% during trading on the 1st (local time).