The gap between yields on the ICE BofA U.S. High Yield Index and the ICE BofA U.S. Corporate Index reached 230 basis points on Oct. 20, 39 basis points wider than in May 2025.
At the Oct. 20 close, the high-yield benchmark recorded an effective yield of 8.21%, compared with 5.91% for the corporate index. The 2.30-percentage-point gap between the readings equals 230 basis points.
On May 14, 2025, the indexes yielded 7.28% and 5.37%, respectively, for a 1.91-percentage-point gap. The difference has since expanded by 39 basis points. At the Oct. 8 close, the high-yield index’s effective yield was 8.11%.
The indexes’ option-adjusted spread (OAS) readings were 3.33% and 0.87% on Oct. 20, a difference of 246 basis points. OAS accounts for embedded options when measuring a bond index against Treasury yields. It is separate from effective yield, so the 246-basis-point OAS gap is not another measure of the 230-basis-point yield gap.
High-yield bonds are rated below investment grade, a category associated with greater default risk than investment-grade debt. These figures cover the two benchmarks, not the full universe of U.S. bonds in either rating class, and provide no evidence about purchases or sales of high-yield funds.
