UK 30-Year Gilt Yield Hits 5.794% as Starmer Crisis Sinks Pound
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 12
UK 30-Year Gilt Yield Hits 5.794% as Starmer Crisis Sinks Pound
18 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 12
UK 30-year borrowing costs jumped 11 basis points to 5.794%—the highest since May 1998—while the 10-year yield rose to 5.11% as more than 70 Labour MPs and ministerial aides pushed Keir Starmer toward the exit.
The pound fell 0.5% to $1.354 and 0.3% against the euro, with investors fearing any Starmer successor could loosen fiscal rules and raise public spending, worsening an already fragile budget outlook.
FTSE 100 stocks dropped nearly 1%, led by banks: Barclays fell 4%, while NatWest and Lloyds lost more than 3%, reflecting broader concern over political instability and higher funding costs.
Oil added another inflation threat, with Brent up 2.7% to $106 a barrel as ceasefire talks in the US-Israel war on Iran looked shaky, reinforcing warnings that UK gilts face a political and energy-driven double hit.
As UK bonds tumble, is the true cause a political crisis at home or a brewing global energy war?
With Britain’s finances squeezed by war and politics, are deep cuts to public services now inevitable?
With its voters fleeing to rivals, can Labour survive its deepest crisis in a generation?