In August 2024, the average yield on ten-year government bonds in the United States was equal to 3.87 percent. This was the highest of the selected developed economies considered in this statistic. The countries with the lowest yield were Germany and Japan, with 2.24 and 0.88 percent respectively. Bonds and yields – additional information The bond yield indicates the level of return that the investor can expect from a given type of bond. The government of Italy, for instance, offered the investors 3.63 percent yield on ten-year government bonds for borrowing their money in August 2024. In the United States, government needs are also financed by selling various debt instruments such as Treasury bills, notes, bonds and savings bonds to investors. The largest holders of U.S. debt are Federal Reserve and Government accounts in the United States. The major foreign holders of the United States treasury securities are Japan, Mainland China, and the United Kingdom.

In January 2020, prior to the onset of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, three of the seven largest economies by GDP had negative yields for two-year government bonds (Japan, Germany and France). With the onset of the pandemic, two-year bond yields in these countries actually rose slightly - in contrast to the other major economies, where yields fell over this period. As of December 2024, yields for two-year government bonds exhibited fluctuations across all countries. Notably, Japan showed a slight upward trend, while China experienced a modest decline.Negative yields assume that investors lack confidence in economic growth, meaning many investments (such as stocks) may lose value. Therefore, it is preferable to take a small loss on government debt that carries almost no risk to the investor, than risk a larger loss on other investments. As both the yen and euro are considered very safe assets, Japanese, German and French bonds were already being held by many investors prior to the pandemic as a hedge against economic downturn. Therefore, with the announcement of fiscal responses to the pandemic by many governments around March 2020, the value of these assets rose as confidence increased (slightly) that the worst case may be avoided. At the same time, yields on bonds with a higher return fell, as investors sought out investments with a higher return that were still considered safe.

As of December 30, 2024, the major economy with the highest yield on 10-year government bonds was Turkey, with a yield of 27.38 percent. This is due to the risks investors take when investing in Turkey, notably due to high inflation rates potentially eradicating any profits made when using a foreign currency to investing in securities denominated in Turkish lira. Of the major developed economies, United States had one the highest yield on 10-year government bonds at this time with 4.59 percent, while Switzerland had the lowest at 0.27 percent. How does inflation influence the yields of government bonds? Inflation reduces purchasing power over time. Due to this, investors seek higher returns to offset the anticipated decrease in purchasing power resulting from rapid price rises. In countries with high inflation, government bond yields often incorporate investor expectations and risk premiums, resulting in comparatively higher rates offered by these bonds. Why are government bond rates significant? Government bond rates are an important indicator of financial markets, serving as a benchmark for borrowing costs, interest rates, and investor sentiment. They affect the cost of government borrowing, influence the price of various financial instruments, and serve as a reflection of expectations regarding inflation and economic growth. For instance, in financial analysis and investing, people often use the 10-year U.S. government bond rates as a proxy for the longer-term risk-free rate.

Key information about Sri Lanka Short Term Government Bond Yield

• Sri Lanka Short Term Government Bond Yield: Month End: Sri Lanka: 2 Years was reported at 13.83 % pa in Jan 2024, compared with 13.87 % pa in the previous month.
• Sri Lanka Short Term Government Bond Yield data is updated monthly, available from Jan 2003 to Jan 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 33.01 % pa in Dec 2022 and a record low of 5.65 % pa in Sep 2020.
• Short Term Government Bond Yield is reported by CEIC Data.

Although the Federal Reserve publishes the yield-to-maturity of U.S. Treasury bonds, the returns earned by investors are not publicly available. We estimate a return series starting in 1962 using yield-to-maturity data of government bonds with 10 year maturity and include formulas to update the paper going forward.

Germany DE: Government Bond Yield: Long Term data was reported at 0.283 % pa in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.090 % pa for 2016. Germany DE: Government Bond Yield: Long Term data is updated yearly, averaging 6.233 % pa from Dec 1957 (Median) to 2017, with 61 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.383 % pa in 1974 and a record low of 0.090 % pa in 2016. Germany DE: Government Bond Yield: Long Term data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.IMF.IFS: Treasury Bill and Government Securities Rates: Annual.

Graph and download economic data for Interest Rates, Government Securities, Government Bonds for Italy (INTGSBITM193N) from Jan 1980 to Feb 2025 about Italy, bonds, securities, government, interest rate, interest, and rate.

Of the largest economies by GDP, the United States saw the sharpest fall in absolute terms for 10-year government bond yields due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. From a level of 1.51 percent in January 2020, yields on 10-year government bonds fell to 0.65 percent by April 2020, and had further fallen to 0.53 percent by July 2020 before starting to recover towards the end of the year. Conversely, countries that went into 2020 with already low bond yields like Japan, Germany and France actually saw a small increase in March 2020 - although these already low yields mean that these small changes are significant in relative terms. As of December 2024, the countries with the highest 10-year yields are the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia with 4.66, 4.54 and 4.46 percent, respectively.

Graph and download economic data for Interest Rates, Government Securities, Government Bonds for United States (INTGSBUSM193N) from Apr 1953 to Aug 2021 about bonds, securities, government, interest rate, interest, rate, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Interest Rates, Government Securities, Government Bonds for Spain (INTGSBESM193N) from Mar 1978 to Feb 2025 about Spain, bonds, securities, government, interest rate, interest, and rate.

Romania RO: Government Bond Yield: Long Term data was reported at 0.584 % pa in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.646 % pa for 2016. Romania RO: Government Bond Yield: Long Term data is updated yearly, averaging 6.651 % pa from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2017, with 13 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.694 % pa in 2009 and a record low of 0.584 % pa in 2017. Romania RO: Government Bond Yield: Long Term data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Romania – Table RO.IMF.IFS: Treasury Bill and Government Securities Rates: Annual.

Brazil 10Y Bond Yield was 15.16 percent on Wednesday March 26, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. Brazil 10-Year Government Bond Yield - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2025.

US 10 Year Note Bond Yield was 4.34 percent on Wednesday March 26, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. US 10 Year Treasury Bond Note Yield - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2025.

Georgia Yield on Government Bonds: 10 Years data was reported at 8.822 % pa in Oct 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 9.016 % pa for Jul 2018. Georgia Yield on Government Bonds: 10 Years data is updated monthly, averaging 10.464 % pa from Mar 2012 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15.478 % pa in Feb 2016 and a record low of 8.822 % pa in Oct 2018. Georgia Yield on Government Bonds: 10 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance of Georgia . The data is categorized under Global Database’s Georgia – Table GE.M002: Interest Rates: Money and Government Papers.

Graph and download economic data for Interest Rates, Government Securities, Government Bonds for United Kingdom (INTGSBGBM193N) from Jan 1957 to Dec 2024 about United Kingdom, bonds, securities, government, interest rate, interest, and rate.

Graph and download economic data for Announced Issues of International Bonds and Notes, Fixed Rate in Sector of General government (DISCONTINUED) (IBANFXGGAI) from Q3 1993 to Q2 2015 about issues, notes, fixed, sector, bonds, government, and rate.

As of October 16, 2024, the yield for a ten-year U.S. government bond was 4.04 percent, while the yield for a two-year bond was 3.96 percent. This represents an inverted yield curve, whereby bonds of longer maturities provide a lower yield, reflecting investors' expectations for a decline in long-term interest rates. Hence, making long-term debt holders open to more risk under the uncertainty around the condition of financial markets in the future. That markets are uncertain can be seen by considering both the short-term fluctuations, and the long-term downward trend, of the yields of U.S. government bonds from 2006 to 2021, before the treasury yield curve increased again significantly in 2022 and 2023. What are government bonds? Government bonds, otherwise called ‘sovereign’ or ‘treasury’ bonds, are financial instruments used by governments to raise money for government spending. Investors give the government a certain amount of money (the ‘face value’), to be repaid at a specified time in the future (the ‘maturity date’). In addition, the government makes regular periodic interest payments (called ‘coupon payments’). Once initially issued, government bonds are tradable on financial markets, meaning their value can fluctuate over time (even though the underlying face value and coupon payments remain the same). Investors are attracted to government bonds as, provided the country in question has a stable economy and political system, they are a very safe investment. Accordingly, in periods of economic turmoil, investors may be willing to accept a negative overall return in order to have a safe haven for their money. For example, once the market value is compared to the total received from remaining interest payments and the face value, investors have been willing to accept a negative return on two-year German government bonds between 2014 and 2021. Conversely, if the underlying economy and political structures are weak, investors demand a higher return to compensate for the higher risk they take on. Consequently, the return on bonds in emerging markets like Brazil are consistently higher than that of the United States (and other developed economies). Inverted yield curves When investors are worried about the financial future, it can lead to what is called an ‘inverted yield curve’. An inverted yield curve is where investors pay more for short term bonds than long term, indicating they do not have confidence in long-term financial conditions. Historically, the yield curve has historically inverted before each of the last five U.S. recessions. The last U.S. yield curve inversion occurred at several brief points in 2019 – a trend which continued until the Federal Reserve cut interest rates several times over that year. However, the ultimate trigger for the next recession was the unpredicted, exogenous shock of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, showing how such informal indicators may be grounded just as much in coincidence as causation.

Graph and download economic data for Interest Rates, Government Securities, Treasury Bills for Mexico (INTGSTMXM193N) from Oct 1986 to Jan 2025 about Mexico, bills, securities, Treasury, government, interest rate, interest, and rate.

Russia 10Y Bond Yield was 15.01 percent on Wednesday March 26, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. Russia 10-Year Government Bond Yield - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2025.

As of December 30, 2024, 14 economies reported a negative value for their ten year minus two year government bond yield spread: Ukraine with a negative spread of 1,370 percent; Turkey, with a negative spread of 1332 percent; Nigeria with -350 percent; and Russia with -273 percent. At this time, almost all long-term debt for major economies was generating positive yields, with only the most stable European countries seeing smaller values. Why is an inverted yield curve important? Often called an inverted yield curve or negative yield curve, a situation where short term debt has a higher yield than long term debt is considered a main indicator of an impending recession. Essentially, this situation reflects an underlying belief among a majority of investors that short term interest rates are about to fall, with the lowering of interest rates being the orthodox fiscal response to a recession. Therefore, investors purchase safe government debt at today's higher interest rate, driving down the yield on long term debt. In the United States, an inverted yield curve for an extended period preceded (almost) all recent recessions. The exception to this is the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic – however, the U.S. ten minus two year spread still came very close to negative territory in mid-2019. Bond yields and the coronavirus pandemic The onset of the coronavirus saw stock markets around the world crash in March 2020. This had an effect on bond markets, with the yield of both long term government debt and short term government debt falling dramatically at this time – reaching negative territory in many countries. With stock values collapsing, many investors placed their money in government debt – which guarantees both a regular interest payment and stable underlying value - in contrast to falling share prices. This led to many investors paying an amount for bonds on the market that was higher than the overall return for the duration of the bond (which is what is signified by a negative yield). However, the calculus is that the small loss taken on stable bonds is less that the losses likely to occur on the market. Moreover, if conditions continue to deteriorate, the bonds may be sold on at an even higher price, partly offsetting the losses from the negative yield.