Yields on government bonds in the U.S., Germany and Japan plunged Tuesday as anxiety over global growth intensified and investors sought havens from widening financial-market turmoil.

Economists and investors are increasingly concerned that the stagnant economies of the eurozone may be headed for a prolonged bout of deflation—a damaging spiral of falling prices and reduced spending and investment. That, in turn, has sparked worries about the resilience of the U.S. economy, which thus far has managed to accelerate in the face of economic stumbles in other major markets. But as oil prices fall and stock markets decline, some investors are losing confidence.

On Tuesday, those concerns played out in the bond market, where yields on government bonds dropped and prices rose. Investors flocked to German and Japanese debt, sending yields on some to record lows. In the U.S., the yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped below 2%, ending the day at its lowest level since May 2013.

The declines accompanied a fresh tumble in the price of crude oil and another pullback in stock prices. Nymex crude dropped 4.2% in New York to $47.93 a barrel, its lowest level since the financial crisis, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 130.01 points to 17371.64, marking its worst start to a year since 2008.

Much of the markets’ future path will be determined by U.S. growth, a rare bright spot in an otherwise bleak global economic picture.

