Working Paper 03
Sovereign bond markets, 2016–2026
September 2026
Abstract
This report examines 10-year yields, yield volatility, policy rates, debt stocks, and refinancing across 50 economies, with usable yield series for 19 markets. Each displayed market recorded 2.0 to 2.7 times its 2016–2019 yield volatility in 2022–2023; Italy was the full-sample exception at 1.4 times, and major-market 10-year yields rose by about 3 percentage points from their 2019–2020 troughs. Approximately 80% of OECD gross sovereign borrowing in 2025 refinanced maturing debt.