Bonds steady after US Treasury comes to the rescue

Global bonds steadied on Thursday after the US Treasury moved to curb a sell-off, with yields easing and the dollar slipping. According to Business Recorder, the Treasury said it would double its buybacks of long-duration debt, a step taken after the 30-year yield climbed to a peak not seen since 2007 earlier in the week. The 30-year yield eased to 5.1890% in early Asian trade, while the 10-year yield stood at 4.6466%.

Japanese government bond yields also retreated from multi-decade highs, with the 20-year yield down to 3.700%. Analysts offered differing views on how long the support would last: National Australia Bank's Taylor Nugent said the timing signalled that officials were alert to long-end borrowing costs, while KGI's Cusson Leung argued that intervention could prompt more selling by institutional holders.

Equity markets rose, with MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific index outside Japan and the Nikkei each up 1.2%. The dollar hovered close to its lowest in 2-1/2 months against a basket of currencies, while Brent crude rose 0.33% to $91.92 a barrel and spot gold fell 0.6% to $4,492.56 an ounce.