Synchronized sovereign-bond rout: US 30-year hits ~5.2% (19-year high), Japan 30-year at a record, German Bund highest since 2011

Government bonds sold off in unison across developed markets in mid-to-late May, pushing long-dated yields to multi-decade highs as the energy-driven inflation shock from the US-Iran conflict and the Strait of Hormuz closure collided with heavy sovereign issuance. The US 30-year Treasury yield rose to about 5.2%, described as its highest since 2007 (a roughly 19-year peak), while the 10-year touched about 4.6-4.7%, the highest in over a year; one snapshot put the 30-year at 5.133% and the 10-year at 4.601%. CNBC reported US 10-year yields up about 12bp on the week, the biggest weekly jump since the April 2025 tariff turmoil.

The move was global: the German 10-year Bund hit roughly 3.136%, its highest since 2011 (last above 3% in July 2011), dragging Italy's 10-year to about 4.45% and widening the BTP-Bund spread to ~131bp; Japan's 30-year JGB yield reached a record high (series back to 1999) and its 10-year the highest since 1997; the UK 10-year gilt reached its highest since July 2008. Drivers cited consistently: the April PCE reading near 3.8% year over year (a three-year high), elevated oil/energy prices, persistent fiscal deficits and crowded issuance, and a hawkish repricing of central banks. The rout pressured equities and rate-sensitive assets and threatened to lift mortgage, auto and corporate borrowing costs.

Yields stabilized somewhat the following week before renewed pressure into early June.