10-Year Treasury yield falls below 1.5% for first time since 2016

The global rally in bonds on Thursday drove the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury below 1.5% for the first time since August 2016.

The yield fell as much as 11 basis points to 1.47% at 1:53 p.m., amid ongoing angst about global trade and as recession risks spurred investors to buy haven assets. However, the yield began to rebound right away and about an hour later was at approximately 1.54%.

Long-term mortgage rates are benchmarked to the 10-year Treasury yield. But the relationship is not one-for-one, which was seen with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remaining unchanged compared with last week, according to Freddie Mac's Thursday morning announcement.

The drop in the 10-year followed a drop in the yield on the U.S. 30-year security, America's longest maturity bond, to a record low below 2%. U.S. stocks were also lower on the day and the dollar slid.

Investor concern has been stoked in recent weeks by worsening U.S.-China trade relations and signs global growth is slowing. That was bolstered by soft Chinese and German economic data this week, and ongoing rhetorical battles over trade between the world’s two largest economies.