Bonds, Gold and Yen Jump on Fears of Military Escalation in Ukraine

(Boursier.com) — Safe havens are back in the spotlight. Government bonds, gold and the yen are jumping after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an updated nuclear weapons doctrine that allows the country to expand its use of atomic weapons. The yield on German 10-year bonds thus fell by 6.6 basis points to 2.302%, after hitting a low since the end of October at 2.28%. The French 10-year rate eased by 5.7 bp to 2.776% and that of the American 10-year bond by 5.7 bp to 4.218%. As for gold, the precious metal rose 0.75% to $2,631 while on the currency market, the yen, a traditional safe haven currency, climbed 0.6% against the dollar and more than 1%. against the euro. The Swiss franc also strengthened significantly against the euro and the greenback (+0.5%).