The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 5.333% in overnight trade, before receding to 5.284%, still close to its 2007 highs. Global government bond yields rose to multiyear highs before losing some steam in late Tuesday U.S. trading as investors grappled with rising economic uncertainty. Shorter-term yields gave up early increases and fell below Monday's levels. The 10-year Treasury yield traded at 4.704% and the two-year at 4.171%. The 10-year German Bund yield was at 3.256%, down from 3.263%, which was the highest level since 2011.

Yields on 10-year Japanese government bonds also hit a 30-year high of 2.955%, while the 30-year U.K. gilt yield hit a three-month high of 5.858%.

Bonds sold off, sending yields higher, because investors demanded a higher payout to lock up their money in securities maturing well into an increasingly uncertain future, said Jamie Patton, a fixed-income portfolio manager and co-head of global rates at asset manager TCW. "If you lock your money up for 30 years in nominal bonds...there's a higher risk that there will be more inflation in the future...there's that chance that you need to be compensated for when you buy long bonds," she said.