How to Compare Different UK Gilts
By Financial World News editorial · Educational explainer · How we source yields
Compare coupon, maturity, yield, duration, linker vs conventional, and green vs conventional — using a dated data table.
How to Compare Different UK Gilts — the mechanics
Two gilts with the same maturity can still differ: coupon (and therefore price), liquidity, and whether they are linker or green. Use yield and duration, not coupon alone.
Line up YTM, modified duration, coupon, maturity, linker versus conventional, and whether the line is on-the-run (tighter spread). Ignore which coupon ‘looks high’ — that is a premium/discount illusion.
Our comparator is built for that grid. Two gilts with the same duration and different coupons should have similar YTMs; if not, check dirty price, xd, and whether one is a linker.
Green versus conventional of the same year: compare YTMs on the same day. A 5bp greenium may not cover a worse spread if you need to exit quickly.
Dated yields for this uk gilts topic
The live board on this site prints official or exchange 10-year rates with the observation date on each card (Bank of England IUDMNZC, ECB Maastricht series, CBOE/Yahoo Treasury yields). Individual ISIN prices are estimated from those moves — not a dealer quote.
Illustrative round-number snapshot for education. Figures are not a live market feed. Confirm with the UK DMO, TreasuryDirect, Bundesrepublik Deutschland Finanzagentur, Italian MEF, Agence France Trésor or Swiss Confederation before acting.
UK Gilts: UK Treasury 4.25% 2034 yield 5.25%, estimated price 93.7, duration 6.4y, maturity 2034-03-07.
US Treasuries: US Treasury 10-year Note yield 4.97%, estimated price 91.9, duration 8.2y, maturity 2036-08-15.
German Bunds: German Bund 10-year yield 3.19%, estimated price 94.1, duration 8.6y, maturity 2036-08-15.
Italian BTPs: BTP 10-year yield 3.99%, estimated price 96.1, duration 8.1y, maturity 2036-03-01.
French OATs: French OAT 10-year yield 4.00%, estimated price 89.8, duration 8.3y, maturity 2036-05-25.
Swiss Confederation: Swiss Confederation 10-year yield 0.42%, estimated price 100.7, duration 9.4y, maturity 2036-06-28.
If a number here disagrees with your broker, trust the broker to trade. Use this page to understand the contract, then confirm the screen.
Official sources (UK Gilts)
Primary statistics and prospectuses for UK Gilts are published by the issuer, not by this newsroom. The labelled links at the end of this page go to those official sites (DMO, TreasuryDirect, Finanzagentur, MEF, AFT, SNB or ECB as relevant).
Our live board is a teaching overlay: dated prints, named sources, estimated ISIN lines. It is not a replacement for the issuer’s calendar.
Key takeaways
- Line up YTM, modified duration, coupon, maturity, linker versus conventional, and whether the line is on-the-run (tighter spread).
- Any market figure belongs next to a date and a named source (BoE, ECB, CBOE/Yahoo). If those disagree with your broker, the broker wins for trading.
- Credit of a G7 government in its own currency is not the same as a stable screen price, and not the same as a bank deposit.
FAQ
- Should I always pick the highest yield?
- No. Higher yield often means longer duration, lower coupon (more price risk) or less liquidity. Match the gilt to your horizon.