US Treasuries hit by biggest sell-off in two years

By Richard Milne in London and Michael Mackenzie in New York

Published: December 8 2010 20:23 | Last updated: December 8 2010 22:18

US Treasuries suffered their biggest two-day sell-off since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, following a torrid month that has seen borrowing costs for western governments soar.

Germany, Japan and the US have all seen their benchmark market interest rates rise by more than a quarter in the past month while the UK’s has risen by nearly a fifth.

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“You could argue that we are at a new stage where the global cost of capital goes higher and higher,â€