Spanish borrowing costs fall
Spain saw solid demand for medium- and long-term bonds paying over two percentage points less to issue a 5-year bond than Italy this week, as Madrid’s cost cutting helped ease concerns it was the euro zone’s weakest link.
But while the Treasury also paid much less to sell two 10-year bonds than a similar issue just a month ago, yields were still near euro-era highs amid doubts over euro leaders’ ability to find a lasting solution to the bloc’s debt crisis.
“A good auction … they managed to sell quite a chunk. In terms of pricing they came in substantially below secondary market levels,” strategist at West LB, Michael Leister said.
“It won’t help to calm these fears everyone in the market is having about funding in 2012, but Spain is considered a far more attractive credit than Italy.”
The Treasury raised 6 billion euros (5 billion pounds) from the auction of three bonds in the primary market, far surpassing a target of 3.5 billion euros and meaning the Treasury has completed its end-of-year bond issuance goal.
Spain faces medium and long-term debt redemptions of nearly 50 billion euros of medium in 2012 though is must also finance a public deficit of around 5 percent of gross domestic product.