Traders dumped government debt on three continents Tuesday morning and drove borrowing costs to marks last seen decades ago. Donald Trump made every policy behind the selloff — the tariffs, the trade wars, the missiles over the Strait of Hormuz. He also holds $1.4 billion a year in crypto income that grows more valuable every time faith in the dollar falls.
The 30-year Treasury opened September at 5.27 percent, its worst run above 5 percent since 2006, Bloomberg reported. The 10-year hit 4.79 percent, the highest since January 2025. Japan paid 3 percent to borrow for ten years, the first time since 1996. Britain paid 5.89 percent on its 30-year gilt, the most since May 1998. France paid 4.94 percent, a level last seen in its 2011 debt crisis.
American and Iranian forces traded fire over the Strait of Hormuz again overnight, and Brent crude climbed past $91 a barrel. Futures traders now price a 68 percent chance the Federal Reserve raises rates this month; a week ago they priced 40. Oil at $91 feeds straight into the inflation the Fed thought it had beaten. The S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent, the Nasdaq 0.8 percent, tech stocks leading the way down.
"It's a genuine regime change," TD Securities strategist Prashant Newnaha said. The bond market is "sounding a warning against fiscal expansion," BNP Paribas strategist Ryutaro Kimura said.
