Bonds round-up
US bonds surged ahead as traders speculated the Federal Reserve will make bigger rate cuts in the coming months on fears about the economy.
The International Monetary Fund said the mortgage crisis in the US is the "largest financial shock since the Great Depression" and warned that the global risk of recession is rising.
It slashed its growth forecasts for both the US and Britain, warning that there is one chance in four that global economic growth will drop to recession levels in the next 12 months.
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US ten-year yield was down 9 basis points to 3.47%, while gilts were mixed with two year yield almost flat at 4.02%. The ten year bond yield rose 1.5 basis points to 4.69%.
Meanwhile in the UK, data from the Office for National Statistics showed that manufacturing output grew 0.4% during February, better than the 0.1% economists had predicted.
That took the annual rate to 1.9%, the highest in over a year, and followed upwardly revised monthly growth of 0.5% in January.
