Treasury yields sink to lowest level since April as revived COVID fears boost safe havens

Treasury yields tumbled on Friday to their lowest since virus lockdowns began reversing.
The 10-year yield slid to 0.578%, its lowest since April 21. The 30-year yield dropped to 1.256%, its lowest level since April 29.
Treasury yields fall when prices rise. The latest dip indicates an influx of investor cash into the popular safe havens.
The US’s recent spike in COVID cases has slowed stocks’ run-up and boosted market volatility as investors weigh the odds of a prolonged recession.
Watch Treasurys trade live here.

Longer-dated Treasury yields slid on Friday to their lowest levels since coronavirus lockdowns began reversing in April, signaling renewed fears among investors of a near-term market decline.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 0.578%, its lowest since April 21. The 30-year bond’s yield sank to 1.256%, its lowest reading since April 29.
Treasury yields fall when prices go up. The market’s latest drop indicates an influx of investor capital to the popular safe-haven assets. The yield spread between 10-year and 30-year Treasurys closed to 0.679 percentage points. A narrower gap between the two suggests investors expect interest rates to hold steady. When lockdown easing began in late April, the spread widened as the market bet on rates increasing earlier than previously expected.
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Soaring coronavirus case counts across the US have returned some risk-off attitude to markets. Infections jumped by nearly 60,000 on Thursday, according to The New York Times, the sixth single-day record in 10 days. Alabama, Missouri, Montana, Idaho, Texas, and Oregon all notched record increases.
The upticks have put off investors who, just weeks ago, had been looking to reopenings as a major boon for risk assets. Stocks’ bull run has slowed from its May sprint, and popular hedge bets including gold and Treasurys have enjoyed fresh inflows.
Those sticking to equities positions are facing a steady increase in outsized price swings. The VIX index — Wall Street’s preferred gauge of stock market volatility — broke above 30 on Thursday for the first time since late June and has since held above the threshold. 
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