US Treasury leads global bond market, traders bet on imminent rate cut

U.S. Treasury bonds surged significantly, with signs of economic slowdown and recent stock market plunges prompting calls for the Federal Reserve to accelerate interest rate cuts, further boosting bets on a steepening yield curve. Shorter-term bonds led the way, with the 2-year Treasury yield briefly falling 9 basis points to 4.34%, the lowest level since early February, and the premium relative to benchmark bonds narrowing accordingly. This rally also spread to the European markets, boosting German and UK bonds, and prompting investors to increase bets on policy easing by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England this year