Weekly bond digest: March 23–29, 2026

Yield Curves

Developed market yield curves were little changed overall last week, even though energy prices and Middle East headlines remained the main themes in the background. Moves were modest across the US, UK and Germany, with most key tenors changing only slightly over the week.

The broader message is that bond markets are still sensitive to oil, gas and geopolitical developments, especially in Europe, where energy prices matter more for inflation. In this kind of environment, a cautious overall stance still seems appropriate, as rate moves remain closely tied to developments that are hard to predict.

Top movers

Credit markets were relatively stable last week despite a cautious risk environment. Investment-grade bonds held up well, even as equities weakened and high-yield spreads widened slightly. This suggests that demand for higher-quality bonds remained solid.

One key factor was the level of yields. Higher yields continued to attract buyers, helping absorb a large amount of new bond issuance. At the same time, fund inflows slowed and some outflows appeared, showing that investor sentiment became more cautious.

Top gainers

Below are the bonds with the strongest weekly price appreciation.

Top losers

The following bonds experienced the sharpest weekly declines.

New issues

Primary markets remained active last week despite geopolitical volatility. The largest transaction was the Oak-Eagle AcquireCo multi-currency financing linked to the Electronic Arts buyout. The bond portion totaled $6,6 billion and was issued in three tranches, including two secured tranches in USD and EUR, while the remainder of the financing was raised through loans. The overall package attracted more than $50 billion of investor demand and the bonds traded higher after launch. This showed that issuers can still access sizeable funding when market windows open.

More broadly, banks continue to work through a pipeline of large leveraged transactions, including additional loan and high-yield bond deals linked to acquisitions. At the same time, some planned deals were delayed due to market volatility, highlighting that timing remains sensitive. Overall, demand for new issues appears solid, but pricing concessions are often required to complete larger transactions.

Chart of the Week

EUR credit spreads have stayed relatively calm after the latest Middle East escalation. Investment Grade widened by less than 15 bp, which is much less than during last March’s “judgement day” repricing. At the same time, European equities fell around 10%, so credit clearly outperformed stocks. The market still seems to expect a contained conflict, not a prolonged macro shock. High yields also continue to support demand. And according to investment banks, dealer inventories in long-duration credit have fallen to record lows, which also helps explain why spreads have moved only modestly.