Government bond yields

What it is

A bond is a loan you can buy and sell. The yield is the yearly return a buyer gets on a 10-year government bond at today's price. When bond prices fall, yields rise, and the other way round.

Why it matters

The 10-year yield is the backbone of long-term borrowing: fixed-rate mortgages and company loans are priced off it. A gap between two countries' yields shows how much extra lenders ask from one government compared with the other.

What moves it

Expected inflation and central bank rates, how much a government borrows, and how safe lenders think it is. In stressful times money tends to flow into the bonds seen as safest, pushing their yields down.

Where the numbers come from

ECB Data Portal (AAA yield curve); ECB Data Portal. Updated automatically every day; official figures are sometimes revised after first release. All sources and their terms.