Today's blog post shows the yields on a couple of benchmark government bond maturities from key countries/economies around the globe.

While bond yields still remain near their historic lows, they have been rising in 2021, particularly with respect to 10-year government bonds (see YTD Change in table).   

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note (T-note) stood at 1.57% at the close on 5/5/21, 442 basis points below its historical average yield of 5.99% since 1/5/62 (not in table), according to Bloomberg.

The yield spread between the U.S. 2-year T-note and the 10-year T-note was 142 basis points on 5/5/21, well above its 30-year average spread of 118 basis points, according to Bloomberg. Remember not that long ago when economists were concerned about an inverted Treasury yield curve?  That is a scenario where short-term yields exceed those offered by bonds with intermediate and long maturities. 

The increase in the yield on the 10-year T-Note in Q1'21 (82 basis points) was the sharpest since late 2016, according to Reuters.

Investors continue to funnel huge amounts of capital into bond mutual funds and exchange-traded funds despite the rise in bond yields. Taxable and Municipal bond mutual funds and ETFs reported estimated net inflows totaling a combined $55.71 billion in March 2021, according to Morningstar. That figure stood at $893.63 billion for the 12-month period ended 3/31/21.