US Long-Term Debt Nearly Halved Since Its Peak

Data show that Treasury bonds with maturities of 10 years or more have fallen by 46% since peaking in March 2020, which is not far removed from the 49% plunge in US stocks after the dot-com bubble burst at the turn of the century. The performance of the 30-year US Treasury bond was even worse, falling 53%, which is close to the 57% decline of the stock market during the financial crisis. The heavy loss highlights the huge risks involved in buying long-term bonds. Thomas, co-head of global interest rates trading at BTIG, said: “This is quite unusual, I never thought I would see 5% 10-year Treasury yields again. We were bewildered by the post-global financial crisis environment and everyone thought Interest rates would remain low.” This decline in long-term US Treasury bonds is more than double the second-largest decline on record in 1981 when then-Fed Chairman Volcker’s anti-inflation actions pushed the 10-year Treasury yield to nearly 16%.