UK government bond yields are at their highest in a generation. On 7 October 2026 the 20-year gilt yield was 5.76%, the highest in the Bank of England’s daily series, which starts in January 2000, and the 10-year yield was 5.39%, a level last reached in July 2007. For new buyers that means a higher return locked in to maturity; for existing holders it has meant falling prices.
The figures are the Bank’s nominal par yields, published in its statistical database. They are the latest available as at 9 October 2026; markets move daily, so treat them as a snapshot.
How far yields have moved
| Gilt maturity | 8 October 2025 | 2 January 2026 | 7 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-year | 4.07% | 3.97% | 4.94% |
| 10-year | 4.72% | 4.52% | 5.39% |
| 20-year | 5.24% | 5.06% | 5.76% |
Source: Bank of England, nominal par yields (series IUDSNPY, IUDMNPY and IUDLNPY). For comparison, Bank Rate is 3.75%.
All three yields now sit well above Bank Rate. The 5-year yield of 4.94% compares with an effective rate of 4.24% on new fixed-term deposits in August, according to the Bank’s Money and Credit release. The two are not like for like: deposit interest and gilt returns are taxed differently, and a gilt sold before maturity can be worth more or less than you paid.
Why yields have risen
Inflation is the first reason. In its September minutes the Bank projected CPI of around 3¾% in the fourth quarter of 2026 and slightly above 4% in early 2027, and three of the nine MPC members voted to raise Bank Rate to 4%. Higher expected inflation and higher expected policy rates both push yields up.
Supply is the second, though the Bank sees its own part as modest. The MPC voted unanimously in September to run its monetary policy gilt holdings down to zero by the end of 2034, with £20bn a year of sales alongside maturing gilts. Bank staff estimate that quantitative tightening explains around 20 to 30 basis points of the roughly 200 basis point rise in term premia on long-term UK government bonds since 2022.
Fiscal worries are the third. Reporting August fund flows, the Investment Association linked rising Treasury and gilt yields to market concern that US and UK deficits will keep growing, and to expectations of persistent inflation.
Price versus yield
A conventional gilt pays a fixed coupon each year on £100 of nominal value and repays £100 at maturity. Because those cash flows never change, the only thing that can adjust when market rates rise is the price. A higher yield therefore means a lower price, and the longer the gilt has to run, the bigger the price move for a given change in yield. That is why long-dated gilts and long-dated bond funds have had the roughest ride.
The yield to maturity combines two things: the coupons, and the gain or loss as the price moves back to £100 at maturity (the “pull to par”). Hold a conventional gilt to maturity and you receive the coupons and the £100 you were promised, whatever happens to prices in between. Sell early and you take the market price on the day. Our guide to how bonds work covers this in more depth.
Why low-coupon gilts appeal to taxpayers
Gains on UK government gilts are free of Capital Gains Tax, according to GOV.UK, while coupons are taxed as income. A gilt with a low coupon that trades well below £100 delivers most of its return as a tax-free rise in price, so a higher-rate or additional-rate taxpayer keeps more of it than they would from the same yield paid as interest.
Private investors have noticed. A Bank of England staff blog published on 15 January 2026 estimated that retail investors hold less than 4% of gilts in issue, but that over 80% of their holdings are in the bottom quarter of coupon rates, mostly in gilts maturing within three years. The authors said demand rose fastest when gilt yields rose relative to savings rates, from 2022. Retail holdings of middle and higher-coupon gilts have also grown, possibly because coupons are free of income tax inside an ISA or SIPP, the authors said. We explain the tax mechanics in low-coupon gilts and Capital Gains Tax.
What it means for savers and bond buyers
- New buyers of a 10-year gilt face yields last seen in 2007. The return is fixed at purchase only for those who hold to maturity. The practical steps are in how to buy gilts.
- Existing holders of long-dated gilts have seen prices fall as yields rose. A loss on paper becomes real only if they sell before maturity.
- Bond fund investors have no maturity date to wait for, so the fund’s price reflects market yields every day. The IA reported £183m of outflows from its UK Gilts sector in August, and inflows to Government Bond funds narrowing to £62m, from £333m in July and £674m in June.
Yields can rise further as well as fall, and nothing here is a forecast. The next big tests are September CPI on 21 October, the Budget on 28 October and the Bank’s decision on 5 November 2026.
