Treasuries' Allure Only Grows as Commodity Slump Hurts Junk Debt
- U.S. high-yield premium to Treasuries is biggest since 2012
- Pimco's Mark Kiesel says credit market is attractive
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Bond bulls are piling into Treasuries as turmoil in junk bonds pushes investors into the safety of lower-yielding government debt.
Diminished demand for energy companies spurred losses in speculative-grade debt, pushing the yield on an index of U.S. high-yield corporate obligations above 8 percent. U.S. government securities rose Monday and junk bonds extended losses as Glencore Plc, the miner and commodity trader, plunged to a record and oil prices fell. The yield of 8.01 percent reached Sept. 25 on the junk-bond index was only surpassed once in the past four years, in August, based on Bloomberg World Bond Indexes.