Overview

• Thirty-year gilt yields climbed to roughly 5.61–5.63%, the highest since 1998 and above the 2022 mini-budget peak.
• Benchmark 10-year yields rose to about 4.74–4.76%, marking fresh multi-week highs.
• Analysts point to concern over the UK’s public finances, reduced odds of further Bank Rate cuts this year, and a broader global bond sell-off.
• Structural factors, including shrinking long-dated demand from closed defined-benefit pension schemes, are weighing on gilt prices.
• Higher yields are eroding fiscal headroom—Oxford Economics estimates a £6.5bn hit to the £9.9bn buffer—and Bank of England policymakers are reported to be considering a slower pace of quantitative tightening as markets track inflation and public finance releases.