Investors rushed for the safety of U.S. Treasuries on the rising number of coronavirus infections worldwide and their impact on the global economy.
The yield on 30-year U.S. securities fell as much as six basis points, more than similar-maturity bonds in Germany and the U.K. While demand was more pronounced for long-dated debt, the rate on five-year Treasuries dropped to a record 0.2563%.
“Record fatalities in a few U.S. states, coupled with new travel restrictions in Italy and Australia, have given markets a pause ahead of the weekend,” said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex.
Demand for risk also waned when a pair of government-owned funds in China announced plans to trim holdings of stocks that soared this week, ending an eight-day market rally that had raised worries of a new bubble in the making.
The move in Treasuries follows a surge on Thursday that was fueled by a strong 30-year debt auction. Shorter-maturity yields have been constrained by expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep the target range for its policy rate unchanged at 0% to 0.25%.
The yield curve between two- and 30-year securities has flattened to 111 basis points, the lowest since early May.
This article was provided bby Bloomberg News.