Weekly bond digest: July 13 – July 19, 2026

Yield Curves

German yields rose across the curve, and the biggest move was at the short end — the 2-year climbed 17 basis points to 2.81%. The jump in oil and gas prices revived inflation worries, and heavy government bond supply added to the pressure. The 10-year finished at 3.14%, up 8 basis points on the week.

US yields barely moved, and the long end slipped a little. The 10-year eased 3 basis points to 4.53% and the 2-year was down 1 basis point at 4.20%. A sharp drop in semiconductor shares pulled some money into Treasuries as a safe haven, which offset the inflation signal from higher oil and left the curve broadly steady.

UK yields rose all along the curve. The 2-year gained 15 basis points to 4.37% and the 10-year added 10 basis points to 4.98%. Higher energy prices and still-sticky inflation kept the pressure on gilts, and investors trimmed their bets on near-term rate cuts.

With supply heavy and inflation still sticky, the favoured stance stays defensive — keeping duration on the shorter side and earning income from high-quality bonds rather than reaching for the longest maturities.

Top gainers

The week's standout was PayPal's 3.25% 2050 bond, a long-dated high-grade name that jumped 12.1%. High-yield industrials rebounded broadly: both Ineos Quattro Fin 2 bonds rose (up 4.3% and 3.3%), joined by Ineos Finance (+1.7%), Kohl's (+2.4%), Domtar (+2.4%) and Kronos International (+1.7%). Howard University's 2051 bond gained 4.5%, and higher-rated names Athene Global (+1.8%) and Stora Enso (+1.7%) rounded out the list.

Top losers

The falls were concentrated in high-yield telecom, where all three Virgin Media bonds dropped — Virgin Media Fin (-4.7%), Virgin Media O2 (-3.3%) and Vmed UK (-2.9%). Community Health Systems (-3.1%) and Flagstar Bank (-2.9%) also declined. Longer-dated bonds felt the rise in yields most: Northumbrian Water (-2.7%), Paramount Global (-2.5%) and Harley-Davidson (-2.4%) all slid, along with Places for People and even the very-low-risk European Financial Stability Facility bond (-2.4%).

Rating changes

Note: only long-term senior unsecured ratings were taken into account.

Upgrades edged out downgrades, 16 to 14. The biggest jump came from Chart Industries, lifted several notches by S&P to A-, while Ford Bank, KeyCorp and KeyBank all won higher marks from Moody's and Banco BPI moved up to A+. On the downside, HSBC Bank Uruguay was cut three notches to BB+, Baker Hughes slipped to A-, and KB Home, Cornerstone OnDemand and PECO Energy were all lowered. Sirona fell to selective default.

New issues

It was a heavy week for high-grade supply, led by financials. JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Mitsubishi UFJ and PNC all printed multi-tranche dollar deals. Supranationals and agencies were busy too — the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Export Development Canada, New Development Bank and African Export-Import Bank all came to market — alongside sovereigns including the United Kingdom and Serbia. Demand stayed firm even with oil prices spiking and volatility rising elsewhere, with investors leaning toward high-quality, longer-dated bonds.