(Bloomberg) — Investors rushed to buy bonds that shield them from the prospect of accelerating inflation after the Russian military launched an attack on Ukraine on Thursday.
The assault drove the price of key commodities sharply higher, pushing gauges of near-term inflation expectations in U.S., Britain, and Europe to a record. The move put the 10-year U.K. real yield on course for its largest drop since the aftermath of the 2016 Brexit vote, and the equivalent German rate toward its biggest decline since at least 2009. In the U.S. five-year real rates plunged more than 30 basis points — exceeding their slide during the peak of pandemic concerns in 2020.
