The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that global government bonds are about to finish their worst quarter since 2024 as $100 (U.S.) oil revives the threat of an inflation shock to the world economy. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says its index of the debt has fallen 2.1 per cent since June. U.S. Treasuries have been hit hard in the recent sell-off, with the 30-year yield surpassing 5.61 per cent on Tuesday to touch a level last seen in 2002. Shorter-maturity bonds have also been punished in the period, despite trimming some of their losses after the Federal Reserve's favoured inflation indicator came in lower than estimated on Wednesday. The conflict in the Middle East, as well as booming spending on artificial intelligence and a robust U.S. economy, are all inflation warning signs. One measure that is being closely watched is the spread between French and German debt as an indicator of the level of stress within the market. The extra yield demanded by investors to hold French bonds over German 10-year debt is now over 1.2 percentage points, a level last reached in 2012. "Further spread widening in Europe is likely even without additional energy shocks," wrote RBC Capital Markets rates strategists.