LONDON: German Bund futures rose to a record high on Monday as safe-haven government bonds benefited due to a switch away from debt issued by the euro zone's peripheral states.

"We've seen some real money selling in smaller size in the periphery but mostly it's just the street marking prices wider. Bunds are going higher but that's also a function of a lack of liquidity, it's hard to know how much further it can go," a trader said

The Bund future hit a new high of 140.56, up 20 ticks on the day and edging past the previous high of 140.52. Ten-year German Bund yields also set a new record low earlier in the session at 1.622 percent.

Spanish and Italian 10-year bond yields were 8 and 5 basis points higher on the day at 6.07 percent and 5.591 percent respectively.