美國國債收益率出現"閃電崩盤"

Rising concerns about the global economy triggered a “flash crash” in US Treasury yields yesterday, as losses spread across stock markets and a new wave of investors appeared to give up on their bullish bets.

對全球經濟日益增加的擔憂情緒昨日引發美國國債收益率出現“閃電崩盤”，與此同時，各股票市場紛紛下跌，又一批投資者似乎放棄了他們的看漲押注。

The yield on a 10-year Treasury, a key barometer of the strength of the US economy, fell below 2 per cent for the first time since the Federal Reserve began talking about removing its monetary stimulus in May 2013.

美國經濟態勢的關鍵晴雨表——10年期美國國債收益率，在美聯儲(Fed) 2013年5月開始討論停止貨幣刺激政策以來，第一次跌至2%以下。

Dealing desks scrambled to make sense of the scale of the drop. Yields fell from 2.19 per cent to 2 per cent in the hour after the release of weak US retail sales, and then plunged to 1.86 per cent within moments. They had rebounded to 1.95 per cent later in New York.

交易機構手忙腳亂地試圖弄明白爲何出現如此幅度的下跌。在有關方面發佈疲弱的美國零售業銷售數據後，10年期美國國債收益率在1小時內從2.19%降至2%，此後即刻跌至1.86%，晚些時候在紐約又回升至1.95%。

The gyrations in the US bond market followed steep falls in European share prices. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 3.2 per cent, the index’s biggest one-day fall since late 2011.

在美國債券市場波動之前，歐洲股票價格暴跌。富時Eurofirst 300指數(FTSE Eurofirst 300)下跌了3.2%，這是2011年末以來該指數單日跌幅最大的一次。

The US S&P 500 was off 2.8 per cent at 1,825 at lunchtime in New York. It has fallen 9.9 per cent from its September peak, putting it within a few points of an official 10 per cent correction, and has given up all its gains for the year. Investors are reassessing their expectations for global growth amid concerns of deflation in the eurozone, weakness in emerging markets and falling oil prices.

紐約午盤時段，美國標普500指數(S&P 500)跌去2.8%，至1825點。該指數已從9月峯值下跌9.9%，與官方所稱10%回調幅度近在咫尺，抹去了今年以來全部漲幅。在歐元區通縮、新興市場疲軟以及油價下跌引發擔憂之際，投資者開始重估他們對全球增長的預期。

Iain Stealey, fixed-income portfolio manager at JPMorgan Asset Management, said: “Fed quantitative easing is ending, expectations about global growth and inflation are falling, and so people want risk-free assets, which means ‘buy US Treasuries’.” Treasuries had their biggest single-day swing since the depths of the credit crisis in 2009.

摩根大通資產管理(JPMorgan Asset Management)的固定收益投資組合經理伊恩•史泰利(Iain Stealey)表示：“美聯儲的量化寬鬆(QE)正在終結，全球增長與通脹預期正在下降，所以人們希望持有無風險資產，這意味着‘買美國國債’。”美國國債收益率呈現出了自2009年信貸危機最嚴重時以來的最大單日波幅。

“We were watching in astonishment,” said Adrian Miller, director of fixed-income strategy at GMP Securities. “Having the 10-year note trade at these levels, back where we were before the Fed taper talk, it’s extraordinary. There is no place to hide if you are pro-risk.”

“看到此等行情讓我們感到震驚，”GMP證券(GMP Securities)的固定收益策略總監亞德里安•米勒(Adrian Miller)表示，“10年期美國國債收益率達到如此水平，回到美聯儲談論退出QE之前的情形，真令人大跌眼鏡。如果你還擁抱風險的話，你將無處可藏。”