U.S. Treasury bond exchange traded funds continued to strengthen, with yields on benchmark 10-year U.S. government notes touching an 11-month low, amid heightened concerns over global growth.
Over the past three months, the iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ: IEF) gained 4.1% and iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ: TLT) rose 5.4% as yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes dropped down to 2.66% after reaching as high as 3.22% back in October.
“If 2.64 percent is broken to the downside, look for a move to 2.49 or 2.48 percent on 10-year yields as selling pressure continues on the global equity complex,” Tom di Galoma, managing director at Seaport Global Holdings, said in a note.
Treasury bonds strengthened following weak economic data out of Asia and Europe while the partial shutdown of the U.S. government continued.
“Chinese PMI came in weaker than expected and gave a risk-off tone to global markets. There are now mounting concerns about global growth,” Justin Lederer, Treasury analyst and trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, told Reuters.
China’s factory activity weakened for the first time in 19 months over December due to the China-U.S. trade war, with weakness also spilling over to other Asian economies.