Investing.com - British government bond yields fell to fresh records on Monday, passing below 1% for the first time in history after the U.K. voted last week to exit the European Union in a referendum result that roiled global markets, triggering a widespread flight to safety.
U.K. sovereign bonds, known as gilts, were being bid up, pushing the yield on benchmark 10-year bonds down to a record low of 0.984% amid fears over the long-term implications of Brexit on the global economy.
This is the first time ever that the gilt yield fell below 1% in records that go back to the 18th century.
Yields move in the opposite direction of prices.
In the general flight to safety when the results of the referendum were announced on Friday, the yield on U.S. 10-Year Treasuries dipped to a four-year low of 1.41% and the yield on Germany 10-Year Bunds reached a record low of minus 0.15%.
The record low in the gilt on Monday came as European stocks continued to fall in early morning trading.
At 8:49AM GMT, or 4:49AM ET, London’s FTSE 100 index was last down 1.35%, the European benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 shed 0.85%, France’s CAC 40 lost 1.06% while Germany’s DAX was down 1.05%.
Meanwhile, the pound came under renewed selling pressure on Monday, falling back towards a 31-year trough after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union on Friday, triggering a massive selloff in global markets.
GBP/USD was last down 2.46% at 1.3342, not far from the lows of 1.3228 set on Friday, the weakest since 1985.