UK 30-year gilt yield climbs to 6.034%, highest since 1998
The yield adds more than 12 basis points on the day, extending a selloff that first pushed 30-year gilts above 6% last week
Published
UK 30-year gilt yields rose to 6.034% on Wednesday, gaining more than 12 basis points and marking the highest level since 1998.
The Bank of England had paused long-dated gilt auctions on September 17 in response, a step that briefly calmed the market before yields resumed climbing.
On October 1, the selloff was attributed to a mix of factors, according to roic.ai: energy-driven inflation risk, expectations of tighter Bank of England policy, heavy gilt supply and fiscal uncertainty ahead of the October 28 budget. The Bank had flagged that the prolonged Middle East conflict pushed up crude and UK wholesale gas prices by 36% and 78% respectively since July, feeding those inflation expectations, roic.ai reported. Goldman Sachs has described the broader selloff as triggered by the Middle East energy shock, with the Bank signalling what it called a 'material about-turn' in monetary policy to dampen an expected surge in inflation.
Today's rise keeps 30-year gilts at the same elevated level reached last week, suggesting the term-premium selloff is continuing rather than reversing. The direct link to US equities remains thin, but past episodes of stress in long-dated gilts at these levels have coincided with broader selling in long-duration assets, a pattern worth watching if it spreads beyond UK debt.