French Government-Bond Yields Rise, Spread Widens as Treasury Yields Fall
By Emese Bartha
French government bonds came under intense selling pressure again early Thursday, taking the spread between 10-year French and German yields to its highest level since 2011.
The 10-year French OAT-German Bund yield spread widened to 164 basis points, according to LSEG data. The 10-year French yield traded above 5%, hitting its highest since 2002 at 5.0601%.
"Today's tentative risk-off, with U.S. Treasurys supported and struggling equities argues for continued pressure on eurozone government bond spreads," said Hauke Siemssen, rates strategist at Commerzbank.
Should concerns over France intensify, German government bonds could once again be sought as a safe haven, Eyb & Wallwitz portfolio manager John Petersen said in a note.
The 10-year German Bund yield declined 1.7 basis points to 3.407%, according to Tradeweb.
French government bonds continued to underperform their German counterparts due to concerns about the budget and social unrest.
The pressure on French bonds came as U.S. Treasury yields slid in early European trade amid falls in equities and concerns about the sustainability of debt-funded investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Concerns about economic growth meanwhile are increasingly outweighing inflation worries.
The 10-year Treasury yield declined 5.9 basis points to 5.088%, while the 30-year Treasury yields fell to a four-week low of 5.376%.
Write to Emese Bartha at emese.bartha@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 22, 2026 03:24 ET (07:24 GMT)
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