Government bond markets rallied on Thursday after a sharp slowdown in eurozone business activity intensified fears about the health of the global economy.
The disappointing data fanned concerns that global growth is waning at a time when central banks are raising interest rates aggressively in an attempt to tame the highest inflation rates in decades.
Germany’s 10-year Bund yield dropped 0.21 percentage points to 1.42 per cent, reflecting a rise in the price of the benchmark debt instrument, after a closely watched survey of business activity in the euro area registered a reading of 51.9 for June — a 16-month low and well beneath consensus estimates of 54. Bond prices rise when yields fall.
US government debt prices also surged higher, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, seen as a benchmark for borrowing costs worldwide, dropping 0.10 percentage points to 3.05 per cent. The two-year US yield, which closely tracks…
