Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions, so 'yields up' means prices fell — holders of long bonds took losses today. Long maturities have high duration, meaning their prices swing much more for the same yield change, which is why the 30Y moves more than the 2Y. When long yields rise faster than short yields, the curve 'steepens' — often a sign investors want more compensation to lend for a long time, whether for inflation risk or the sheer volume of new bonds being issued.

At auction, a lower yield than the pre-sale 'when-issued' level (a 'stop-through') means buyers accepted less compensation than expected — a sign of strong demand. That matters because weak auctions can force yields up across the market; a firm one is reassuring. TIPS pay a real yield on top of inflation, so a ~2.97% real yield tells you investors are demanding meaningful compensation even after inflation protection.

A credit spread is the extra yield a company must pay over a comparable Treasury to compensate for default risk. A tight 81bp spread means investors are relaxed about corporate credit — they aren't demanding much extra to lend to companies. Watch this: when spreads WIDEN, it usually signals rising fear about the economy, and IG bond prices fall on top of any move in the underlying Treasury yield.

Bond markets don't move in lockstep — each is driven by its own central bank and inflation outlook. China's low, stable yields while others surge means Chinese bonds gained in relative price terms and offered ballast. For a beginner, this shows why global diversification matters: holding bonds from economies at different policy stages can smooth returns when one market sells off.

UK gilts rarely move in isolation — when US Treasury and German Bund yields rise, gilt yields tend to follow, so gilt prices typically fall on days like this (the price/yield inverse). Long-dated gilts have the most duration, so they take the biggest price hit for a given yield rise. Beginners should note the BoE's policy rate anchors the short end, but global forces and UK issuance drive the long end — which is why a US-led selloff can lift UK borrowing costs even with no domestic news.