10-Year Treasury Yield Falls to 4.60% as Bond Selloff Pauses After Hitting 4.69%
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · May 20
10-Year Treasury Yield Falls to 4.60% as Bond Selloff Pauses After Hitting 4.69%
14 articles · Updated · CBS New York · May 20
The 10-year Treasury yield dropped to 4.60% on Wednesday from 4.69% a day earlier, giving markets brief relief after a sharp selloff in U.S. government bonds.
Inflation fears drove the earlier surge in yields, with investors betting the Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut rates in 2026 and seeing rising odds of a rate hike this year.
The pressure was broader across the curve: the 30-year Treasury yield touched 5.19% on Tuesday, its highest since July 2007, while the 10-year reached its highest level since January 2025.
Higher Treasury yields are already feeding into borrowing costs, with the average 30-year mortgage rate rising to 6.36% on Wednesday from 5.98% at the end of February.
Yardeni Research said the move still looks more like a near-term inflation scare than stagflation, but warned it would grow concerned if the 10-year yield significantly breaks above 5.00%.
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U.S. Treasury Yields Surge to 16-Month Highs Amid Middle East Crisis: Inflation, Fed Policy, and Global Market Fallout
Overview
On May 20, 2026, U.S. Treasury yields surged to multi-year highs as escalating tensions in the Middle East, especially between the U.S. and Iran, drove global oil prices sharply higher. This spike in oil prices intensified fears of persistent inflation, leading investors to abandon expectations for interest rate cuts and instead brace for rates to stay high or even rise. As a result, government bonds saw a broad sell-off, with investors demanding higher yields to offset inflation risks. The immediate impact was higher borrowing costs for homebuyers, businesses, and the U.S. government, with ripple effects felt across global markets.