The tariff storm unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump, coupled with retaliatory measures imposed or in the pipeline by America’s former trade allies, is sending shockwaves through global markets. Trillions have been wiped off stock valuations as investor confidence takes a hit, while bond spreads are widening sharply across the board — with Greek bonds proving to be no exception.

What’s particularly striking is that the current crisis is affecting safe-haven assets. The U.S. dollar and American government bonds—normally ports in a financial storm—are faltering, pushing borrowing costs higher across the Atlantic as well.

Greece, too, has been caught in this financial storm. The yield on its 10-year government bond has climbed above 3.6%, while the spread over the benchmark German Bund is edging back toward triple digits, reaching 97 basis points.

Meanwhile, the yield on Germany’s own 10-year bond, the eurozone’s reference point, has risen to 2.64%. Longer-term bonds across Europe—especially in France and Italy—have taken an even bigger hit, with yields jumping more than 5 basis points.

In the U.S., the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield surged by 12 basis points to 4.3762%, after touching an intraday high of 4.515%. This widened the yield gap between U.S. and German 10-year bonds to approximately 175 basis points—a clear sign of growing divergence.

Bond yields have also risen sharply across the rest of Europe. French 10-year bonds gained 8 basis points, Swiss bonds 7, and Italian 10-year yields shot up by 13 basis points.

In the UK, yields surged to multi-decade highs, with the 30-year gilt yield reaching 5.507%—the highest level since 1998—surpassing the previous peak of 5.472% recorded in January. The jump followed a dramatic rise in U.S. 30-year bond yields.

Wednesday marked a turning point as Trump’s new round of reciprocal tariffs officially came into effect, including a hefty 104% duty on Chinese goods.

This escalation of the global trade war sent U.S. government bonds plunging, underscoring a startling trend: investors are now turning away from even the safest assets, amid growing alarm over America’s increasingly aggressive tariff stance.