Brian Chappatta, Columnist

Treasury Rally Was a Flash, Not a Crash

Emerging-market turmoil naturally pushed traders to safety.

June 7, 2018 at 8:31 PM UTC

Brian Chappatta is managing editor of Bloomberg News' leveraged finance and distressed debt teams. He was previously managing editor and team leader of its wealth group. Before that he was a Bloomberg Opinion markets and finance columnist and a bonds reporter for Bloomberg News.

Startling but not perilous.
Photographer: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

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In an instant, everything seemed to change on Thursday in the $14.9 trillion Treasury market.

The benchmark 10-year yield, which was flirting with 3 percent yet again, at 1:34 p.m. suddenly plunged four basis points in one minute to 2.88 percent. Two-year yields fell about the same amount. Ten-minute volume in 10-year Treasury futures soared, exceeding that of the period following Friday’s jobs report. Screens flashed: “What’s going on?” “Can’t get to the bottom of it.” On Twitter, users pondered whether a fat-finger trade was to blame.