Global investors set new record in flight to gilts

International investors are buying record amounts of UK government bonds as the Bank of England's £75bn QE programme spurs demand, with the yield on the 10-year gilt hitting a new record low.

However, a leading economist said this does not mean the UK is necessarily a safe haven from the eurozone crisis. The government’s long-term benchmark borrowing costs have fallen to lows last seen in the 1890s, helped by demand from some of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds, according to the FT. International investors bought £28.87bn of gilts in October and November – the largest amount over a two-month period since the data was first collected by the Bank in 1982. Ten-year yields fell to 1.96 per cent last week. Henderson’s chief economist Simon Ward (pictured) said the ...