Interactive chart showing the daily 10 year treasury yield back to 1962. The 10 year treasury is the benchmark used to decide mortgage rates across the U.S. and is the most liquid and widely traded bond in the world.

As of December 30, 2024, the major economy with the highest yield on 10-year government bonds was Turkey, with a yield of ***** 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 **** percent, while Switzerland had the lowest at **** 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.

The yield on US 10 Year Note Bond Yield eased to 4.22% on July 1, 2025, marking a 0.01 percentage point decrease from the previous session. Over the past month, the yield has fallen by 0.23 points and is 0.22 points lower than a year ago, 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 July of 2025.

In December 2024, the yield on a 10-year U.S. Treasury note was **** percent, forecasted to decrease to reach **** percent by August 2025. Treasury securities are debt instruments used by the government to finance the national debt. Who owns treasury notes? Because the U.S. treasury notes are generally assumed to be a risk-free investment, they are often used by large financial institutions as collateral. Because of this, billions of dollars in treasury securities are traded daily. Other countries also hold U.S. treasury securities, as do U.S. households. Investors and institutions accept the relatively low interest rate because the U.S. Treasury guarantees the investment. Looking into the future Because these notes are so commonly traded, their interest rate also serves as a signal about the market’s expectations of future growth. When markets expect the economy to grow, forecasts for treasury notes will reflect that in a higher interest rate. In fact, one harbinger of recession is an inverted yield curve, when the return on 3-month treasury bills is higher than the ten-year rate. While this does not always lead to a recession, it certainly signals pessimism from financial markets.

Graph and download economic data for Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 20-Year Constant Maturity, Quoted on an Investment Basis (DGS20) from 1962-01-02 to 2025-06-27 about 20-year, maturity, Treasury, interest rate, interest, rate, and USA.

As of April 16, 2025, the yield for a ten-year U.S. government bond was 4.34 percent, while the yield for a two-year bond was 3.86 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 the following years. 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.

Interactive chart showing the daily 1 year treasury yield back to 1962. The values shown are daily data published by the Federal Reserve Board based on the average yield of a range of Treasury securities, all adjusted to the equivalent of a one-year maturity.

The yield on US 30 Year Bond Yield rose to 4.83% on June 27, 2025, marking a 0.03 percentage point increase from the previous session. Over the past month, the yield has fallen by 0.15 points, though it remains 0.27 points higher than a year ago, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. United States 30 Year Bond Yield - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on June of 2025.

Interactive chart showing the daily 5 year treasury yield back to 1962. The values shown are daily data published by the Federal Reserve Board based on the average yield of a range of Treasury securities, all adjusted to the equivalent of a five-year maturity.

Graph and download economic data for Interest Rates: Long-Term Government Bond Yields: 10-Year: Main (Including Benchmark) for United States (IRLTLT01USM156N) from Apr 1953 to May 2025 about long-term, 10-year, bonds, yield, government, interest rate, interest, rate, and USA.

The risk-free rate is a theoretical rate of return of an investment with zero risk of financial loss. This rate represents the minimum interest an investor would expect from a risk-free investment over a period of time. It is important to remember that the risk-free rate is only theoretical as all investments carry even the smallest of risks. Across European countries, average risk-free rates differed quite significantly.

United Kingdom is low risk and low reward

When average risk-free rates on a theoretical investment with no risk is high, like seen in Turkey and Ukraine, the opportunity for high reward investments must seem tempting. But with high rewards come higher risks. Countries such as the UK and Germany has consistently shown low risk-free rates due to their investment markets’ relative stability.

Market risk premiums

Market risk premiums (MRP) are a measure that is closely associated with average risk-free rates. MRPs are a measurement of the expected return on investment an investor looks to make. For potential investors looking to add to their portfolio, the perfect scenario for a risk-based investment would be a high rate of return with as small a risk as possible. There are three main concepts to MRPs, including required market risk premiums, historical market risk premiums and expected market risk premiums. Like average risk-free rates, MRPs vary quite widely across Europe.

After to as low as low as **** percent in July 2020, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the yield on 10-year U.S treasury bonds increased considerably. As of June 2024, it reached **** percent.

The yield on China 10Y Bond Yield eased to 1.65% on July 1, 2025, marking a 0 percentage point decrease from the previous session. Over the past month, the yield has fallen by 0.05 points and is 0.59 points lower than a year ago, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. China 10-Year Government Bond Yield - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on July of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 5-Year Constant Maturity, Quoted on an Investment Basis (DGS5) from 1962-01-02 to 2025-06-18 about maturity, Treasury, interest rate, interest, 5-year, rate, and USA.

Interactive chart showing the daily 30 year treasury yield back to 1977. The U.S Treasury suspended issuance of the 30 year bond between 2/15/2002 and 2/9/2006.

Graph and download economic data for Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity, Quoted on an Investment Basis (DGS3MO) from 1981-09-01 to 2025-06-26 about bills, 3-month, maturity, Treasury, interest rate, interest, rate, and USA.

The yield on Japan 10Y Bond Yield eased to 1.40% on July 1, 2025, marking a 0.04 percentage point decrease from the previous session. Over the past month, the yield has fallen by 0.11 points, though it remains 0.31 points higher than a year ago, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. Japan 10 Year Government Bond Yield - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on July of 2025.

The risk-free rate is a theoretical rate of return of an investment with zero risk. This rate represents the minimum interest an investor would expect from a risk-free investment over a period of time. It is important to remember that the risk-free rate is only theoretical, as all investments carry even the smallest of risks. A higher risk-free rate illustrates that even with a so-called "zero risk" investment, investors would want a higher return because of the countries associated investment risks. Average risk-free rate (RF) rate of investment and market risk premium As of 2024, Turkey had the ******* risk-free rate of the countries displayed, with **** percent among the European countries under observation. When it comes to the market risk premium, or the rate of return expected by investors over the risk that investments hold, Turkey displayed a higher market risk premium during the same period.
Investment in selected European countries Since 2017, both the risk-free rate and average market risk premium in Ukraine have been excessively high. Even more information on market risk premiums, average risk-free rates, and required return on equity in selected European countries can be found in the report on market investments in Europe.

Graph and download economic data for 10-Year Real Interest Rate (REAINTRATREARAT10Y) from Jan 1982 to Jun 2025 about 10-year, interest rate, interest, real, rate, and USA.

Up until 2018, the average risk-free rate in Germany remained relatively stable at approximately *** percent. The risk-free rate is a theoretical rate of return of an investment with zero risk. This rate represents the minimum interest an investor would expect from a risk-free investment over a period. It is important to remember that the risk-free rate is only theoretical as all investments carry even the smallest of risks. As of 2024, the risk-free rate in Germany was *** percent. Risk free rates in Europe A higher risk-free rate illustrates that even with a so-called "zero risk" investment, investors would want a higher return because of the countries associated investment risks. In Europe, Ukraine and Turkey were among the countries with relatively higher average risk-free rates in 2024 compared to other European countries. The majority of European countries have RF rates under **** percent in 2024. Market risk premiums Risk free rates reflect market risk premiums (MRP) with Germany displaying low MRP compared to other European countries. Split into three categories (required, historical, expected), market risk premiums measure the rate of return investors expect on an investment over the risk that investment holds. In Europe, average market risk premiums (MRP) sit between five and ten percent. During the last ten years, Germany has seen slight increase in market risk premiums.