The spread between U.S. and German 10-year government bond yields widened to its steepest level since January 2020 on Monday, as European yields tumbled following the European Central Bank's announcement that it will speed up its pace of bond buying.
The big picture: The ECB became the first major central bank to announce an increase in bond buying to stem higher yields.
- In contrast, the Fed and chair Jerome Powell have signaled they have no intention of taking action on rising rates.
By the numbers: The 10-year spread ended last year at 146 basis points and has widened by nearly 50 basis points this year, according to data from Tradeweb.
- The spread on 30-year government debt has widened to its steepest level since early November 2019 and even the 2-year spread has grown wider this year.