NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bond investors are the most bullish on longer-dated Treasuries in two years as worries about slowing global growth and losses on Wall Street have spurred safe-haven demand for U.S. government debt, a J.P. Morgan survey showed on Tuesday.
The margin of investors who said on Monday they were "long," or holding more Treasuries than their portfolio benchmarks, over those who said they were "short," or holding fewer Treasuries than their benchmarks, was 4 percent, compared with a net short of 2 percent the previous week, according to the survey.
This was the most net longs in longer-dated Treasuries since Oct. 24, 2016, J.P. Morgan said.
A quarter of investors surveyed said they were long on U.S. government bonds, up from 21 percent last week.
The share of investors who said they were short Treasuries fell to 21 percent from 23 percent a week ago.
The share of investors who said they were neutral, or holding Treasuries equal to their portfolio benchmarks, fell to 54 percent from 56 percent, J.P. Morgan said.
On Tuesday, benchmark 10-year Treasury yields (US10YT=RR) fell to 3.036 percent, the lowest level in over seven weeks. It has fallen steadily from a 7-1/2 year peak of 3.261 percent set on Oct 9, Refinitiv data showed.
Wall Street fell on a disappointing sales outlook from retailers. Worries about iPhone sales knocked Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) sharply lower, putting pressure on the tech sector.
Graphic: Investors positions in longer-dated US Treasuries - https://tmsnrt.rs/2OikPnI