British 30-year bond yields fall below 1% for the first time

LONDON (Reuters) – UK 30-year government bond yields fell below 1% on Thursday for the first time after investors rushed to buy safe-haven fixed-income badets, while investors fears of a global recession were intensifying.

The decline in bond yields reduces the cost of new government bonds, but is also seen as indicating that financial markets are expecting a slowdown in growth and an expected rate cut from the Bank of England.

The 30-year government bond yields fell to 0.988%, down eight basis points. Government bond yields at 10 and 20 also reached record lows of 0.414% and 0.85%, respectively.

The trade dispute between the United States and China has raised fears of a slowdown in the global economy, a concern that intensified on Thursday after China announced that it would impose retaliatory tariffs .

The markets are betting that the Bank of England will have to reduce its interest rates before the end of the year if Britain leaves the European Union on October 31st without a transition agreement in order to minimize its negative economic effects.