In January 2020, prior to the onset of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, three of the seven largest economies by GDP had negative yields for two-year government bonds (Japan, Germany and France). With the onset of the pandemic, two-year bond yields in these countries actually rose slightly - in contrast to the other major economies, where yields fell over this period.
Negative yields assume that investors lack confidence in economic growth, meaning many investments (such as stocks) may lose value. Therefore, it is preferable to take a small loss on government debt that carries almost no risk to the investor, than risk a larger loss on other investments. As both the yen and euro are considered very safe assets, Japanese, German and French bonds were already being held by many investors prior to the pandemic as a hedge against economic downturn. Therefore, with the announcement of fiscal responses to the pandemic by many governments around March 2020, the value of these assets rose as confidence increased (slightly) that the worst case may be avoided. At the same time, yields on bonds with a higher return fell, as investors sought out investments with a higher return that were still considered safe.
Yields on two-year government bonds in the seven largest economies worldwide from January 2020 to March 2023, by country
Characteristic
United States
China
Japan
Germany
India
United Kingdom
France
Mar 23
4.03%
2.37%
-0.05%
2.69%
7.04%
3.44%
2.75%
Feb 23
4.81%
2.51%
-0.03%
3.13%
7.31%
3.68%
3.19%
Jan 2023
4.2%
2.34%
-0.01%
2.64%
7.06%
3.45%
2.7%
Dec 2022
4.42%
2.34%
0.03%
2.73%
6.95%
3.7%
2.85%
Nov 2022
4.32%
2.33%
-0.02%
2.13%
6.86%
3.28%
2.21%
Oct 2022
4.48%
2.05%
-0.03%
1.94%
7%
3.27%
2.08%
Sep 2022
4.27%
2.19%
-0.04%
1.77%
7.08%
4.3%
1.81%
Aug 2022
3.49%
2.05%
-0.08%
1.2%
6.59%
3%
1.02%
Jul 2022
2.92%
2.1%
-0.08%
0.26%
6.4%
1.7%
0.18%
Jun 2022
2.95%
2.25%
-0.05%
0.67%
6.52%
1.87%
0.59%
May 2022
2.56%
2.23%
-0.07%
0.5%
6.37%
1.57%
0.35%
Apr 2022
2.73%
2.33%
-0.05%
0.25%
5.49%
1.6%
0.27%
Mar 2022
2.33%
2.3%
-0.04%
-0.07%
4.97%
1.5%
-0.02%
Feb 2022
1.44%
2.22%
-0.03%
-0.51%
4.84%
1.05%
-0.45%
Jan 2022
1.18%
2.15%
-0.05%
-0.53%
5.01%
1.04%
-0.45%
Dec 2021
0.73%
2.37%
-0.09%
-0.64%
5%
0.68%
-0.61%
Nov 2021
0.57%
2.54%
-0.13%
-0.75%
4.73%
0.48%
-0.72%
Oct 2021
0.5%
2.61%
-0.1%
-0.59%
4.83%
0.71%
-0.59%
Sep 2021
0.28%
2.49%
-0.12%
-0.7%
4.7%
0.41%
-0.68%
Aug 2021
0.21%
2.47%
-0.13%
-0.72%
4.44%
0.16%
-0.68%
Jul 2021
0.19%
2.43%
-0.12%
-0.76%
4.23%
0.06%
-0.72%
Jun 2021
0.25%
2.66%
-0.11%
-0.66%
4.59%
0.06%
-0.63%
May 2021
0.14%
2.73%
-0.13%
-0.66%
4.38%
0.07%
-0.64%
Apr 2021
0.16%
2.75%
-0.12%
-0.69%
4.46%
0.08%
-0.64%
Mar 2021
0.16%
2.85%
-0.12%
-0.7%
4.54%
0.11%
-0.66%
Feb 2021
0.13%
2.77%
-0.11%
-0.66%
4.72%
0.13%
-0.62%
Jan 2021
0.11%
2.85%
-0.13%
-0.73%
4.19%
-0.1%
-0.69%
Dec 2020
0.12%
2.76%
-0.12%
-0.71%
3.87%
-0.16%
-0.72%
Nov 2020
0.15%
2.97%
-0.12%
-0.74%
3.92%
-0.02%
-0.71%
Oct 2020
0.16%
2.86%
-0.12%
-0.79%
4.19%
-0.02%
-0.71%
Sep 2020
0.13%
2.83%
-0.14%
-0.7%
4.43%
-0.01%
-0.64%
Aug 2020
0.13%
2.72%
-0.11%
-0.65%
4.46%
-0.05%
-0.59%
Jul 2020
0.11%
2.43%
-0.14%
-0.72%
4.19%
-0.07%
-0.63%
Jun 2020
0.15%
2.26%
-0.14%
-0.69%
4.17%
-0.08%
-0.6%
May 2020
0.16%
1.84%
-0.16%
-0.65%
4.27%
-0.04%
-0.53%
Apr 2020
0.2%
1.33%
-0.18%
-0.77%
4.47%
0.01%
-0.6%
Mar 2020
0.25%
1.98%
-0.14%
-0.68%
5.04%
0.13%
-0.57%
Feb 2020
0.93%
2.36%
-0.25%
-0.77%
5.49%
0.32%
-0.68%
Jan 2020
1.32%
2.55%
-0.15%
-0.67%
5.67%
0.51%
-0.62%
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Investing.com. (April 25, 2023). Yields on two-year government bonds in the seven largest economies worldwide from January 2020 to March 2023, by country [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved October 12, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1254178/two-year-government-bond-yields-largest-economies/
Investing.com. "Yields on two-year government bonds in the seven largest economies worldwide from January 2020 to March 2023, by country." Chart. April 25, 2023. Statista. Accessed October 12, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1254178/two-year-government-bond-yields-largest-economies/
Investing.com. (2023). Yields on two-year government bonds in the seven largest economies worldwide from January 2020 to March 2023, by country. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: October 12, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1254178/two-year-government-bond-yields-largest-economies/
Investing.com. "Yields on Two-year Government Bonds in The Seven Largest Economies Worldwide from January 2020 to March 2023, by Country." Statista, Statista Inc., 25 Apr 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1254178/two-year-government-bond-yields-largest-economies/
Investing.com, Yields on two-year government bonds in the seven largest economies worldwide from January 2020 to March 2023, by country Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1254178/two-year-government-bond-yields-largest-economies/ (last visited October 12, 2024)
Yields on two-year government bonds in the seven largest economies worldwide from January 2020 to March 2023, by country [Graph], Investing.com, April 25, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1254178/two-year-government-bond-yields-largest-economies/