Euro zone bonds join global selloff, long-end yields at multi-year highs

LONDON, Aug. 18 (Reuters) - Longer-dated euro zone bond yields hit multi-year highs on Tuesday, joining a global fixed-income selloff as fading hopes for a swift end to the war in Iran kept oil prices elevated and fuelled inflation concerns.

Long-standing worries about fiscal stability in countries such as France, Japan, Britain and the United States also weighed on government bonds, even as recent soft U.S. economic data prompted investors to scale back expectations for Federal Reserve rate hikes.

Germany's 10-year yield, the euro zone benchmark, rose as high as 3.271%, its highest level since May 2011. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

Yields also climbed across the euro zone, with bigger increases in more heavily indebted countries such as France, Spain and Italy.

France's 10-year yield rose to 4.126%, its highest since November 2008, widening the spread over Germany's 10-year yield to 86 basis points, the largest gap since October 2025.