Anxious investors hunting for a haven from eurozone turmoil and protection against the risk of higher inflation have paid the US government a premium for the privilege of owning its debt, with $15bn of inflation-linked Treasuries sold last night at a negative interest rate for the first time.

The sale of Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or Tips, at a negative yield of 0.046 per cent shows the willingness of bond investors to pay up for a security that will over time compensate them for a sharp rise in prices that would erode fixed rate returns.

Bill O’Donnell, strategist at RBS Securities, said that investors were accepting “a short term cost for a potential long term gain”. The yield of 1.99 per cent for a cash or nominal 10-year Treasury note is less than the current inflation rate, meaning that buyers of such government bonds are incurring a negative real rate of return.