Government bond ETFs listed around the globe attracted record-breaking purchases of $5.6 billion in May driven by flows of $4.4 billion into U.S. Treasury funds, according to industry data.
“Demand for assets perceived as lower-risk pushed yields on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds to record lows. Beyond the U.S., yields on 10-year German bunds and U.K. gilts also fell to record lows,” according to a report released by BlackRock on Wednesday.
The previous monthly high for government bond exchange traded products was $3.6 billion set in June 2010. [German Bond ETFs Rally as 2-Year Yield Hits Zero]
Nervous investors have pumped over $30 billion into fixed-income exchange traded products so far this year. Worries over Europe’s debt crisis and the global economy recently pushed yields on the 10-year Treasury note under 1.5% to all-time lows. [Will ‘Mad Rush’ to Bond ETFs End in Tears?]
Overall, the global ETP business gathered inflows of $19.2 billion in May, according to BlackRock, which oversees the iShares ETFs.