Treasuries Liquidity Drying Up Puts $50 Trillion in Question

Treasuries market depth worst since 2008, JPMorgan data shows
JPMorgan, Bank of America advise Treasury buy back debt

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 23: The George Washington Statue in front of Federal Hall on Wall street is engulfed in a cloud of steam on September 23, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)Photographer: Gary Hershorn/Corbis News

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By Liz Capo McCormick and Alyce Andres

March 11, 2020 at 10:06 PM UTC

Updated on

March 12, 2020 at 2:26 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Coronavirus-induced market mayhem has pushed so much liquidity out of U.S. Treasuries that the true value of more than $50 trillion in assets around the globe is in doubt.

Yields in the world’s largest debt market have been on a mind-bending, three-week roller-coaster ride. At one point, the entire U.S. yield curve was below 1% for the first time ever. But this week rates have jumped from Monday’s all-time lows even though fear of the virus has intensified, and U.S. stocks sank into a bear market Wednesday. The biggest oil-price plunge since 1991 also stirred chaos this week.