* Economists pare back forecasts for rising govt bond yields * Doubt about economic recovery, low interest rates cited * 50-50 chance of Spain losing last "AAA" rating in 12 mths LONDON, June 29 - Big questions about the durability of the global economic recovery will slow the rise of government bond yields towards pre-crisis levels, according to a quarterly Reuters poll of bond strategists. New-found zeal for austerity measures among European governments, signs of a slowing global economy and the likelihood of ultra-low central bank interest rates for some time yet, prompted the 50 respondents to cut their forecasts for how high bond yields will go. There were marked downgrades for the 10-year bund yield forecasts, which saw analysts chopping between 35 and 48 basis points for each of their three-, six- and 12-month median forecasts compared to the March poll. Showing the extent of the change in sentiment, forecasters a year ago thought U.S., British and euro zone 10-year yields would have returned to pre-crisis levels by now, nearing or exceeding the 4 percent mark. But as of Tuesday, euro zone and U.S. 10-year bonds were yielding less than 3 percent -- the latter at their lowest level since April 2009. "I think we're at a very fine dividing line at the current time, but at the moment the majority of the flow we see is people going into bonds purely because of their safety factor," said Stephen Pope at Cantor Fitzgerald. Investors will be looking for encouraging signs of corporate results in the next earnings season that could drive people away from government bonds and back into equities, he added. Government bonds rallied on Tuesday as stock markets fell, with the two-year Treasury yield hitting a record low and the 10-year gilt hitting tracking its American equivalent to hit a 14-month low.

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