UBS Investment Bank’s head of European rates strategy, Reinout de Bock, has closed a bearish position against French bonds and opened a short position in Italian BTPs (Italian government bonds) against German Bunds. Italian 10-year yields were 4.69% by 12:20 p.m. London time on Friday after reaching their highest level since 2023 on Thursday, while Germany’s 10-year Bund yield fell more than 10 basis points to 3.414%. The moves widened the BTP-Bund spread to about 127 basis points, a closely watched measure of eurozone borrowing risk. De Bock said Italy could face greater investor concern at higher yields despite reforms, as bond markets confront risks from energy and commodity prices and questions over economic resilience. The latest pressure follows sharp moves in U.S., U.K., French and German government debt, including the 10-year Treasury’s highest yield since 2002, a 6% yield on longer-dated U.K. debt and a 4.9% yield on France’s 10-year OAT.