Treasury Yields Tumble to Record Lows on Global Growth Concern

Treasuries surged, pushing yields to record lows, as investors sought a refuge in the world’s safest securities on concern global growth is slowing and speculation inflation will remain subdued.

U.S. government debt was on pace for the best monthly returns since December 2008 a week after the Federal Reserve said it would keep borrowing costs unchanged until at least mid-2013. Treasuries have returned 1.8 percent since Standard & Poor’s lowered the U.S. credit rating for the first time on Aug. 5 and are up 2.9 percent this month. Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Global Government Bond Index, which excludes the U.S., has increased 1.7 percent in August.