Spain raises US$4.3b with big bond sale
Source: Agencies |
July 2, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SPAIN successfully raised 3.5 billion euros (US$4.3 billion) yesterday in an oversubscribed bond sale, a reassuring sign for markets a day after ratings agency Moody's warned it may join others in downgrading the country's debt.
The average interest rate for the five-year bonds was 3.65 percent, up from 3.53 percent at the last such auction in May, and the sale was 1.7 times oversubscribed, the Treasury Department said. The government had hoped to sell between 2.5 billion euros and 3.5 billion euros of the bonds.
A Treasury official said the oversubscription ratio showed the Moody's warning went "totally unnoticed."
Moody's Investors Service sent a shudder through financial markets when it said late Wednesday it has placed Spain's AAA sovereign rating under review for a possible downgrade because of worsening economic prospects.
The agency said it will reevaluate Spain's credit rating over the next three months, adding it expects that any cut would only be by "one, or at most two, notches."
Spain's borrowing costs have risen significantly this year, deepening worries among investors already fretting over the country's ability to climb out of an economic slump while enacting deep spending cuts.
Fitch downgraded Spain's sovereign debt from AAA to AA+ on May 28, saying austerity measures taken by the government will slow growth in the economy. It was Spain's second such downgrade in a month, after Standard & Poor's took a similar move.
The average interest rate for the five-year bonds was 3.65 percent, up from 3.53 percent at the last such auction in May, and the sale was 1.7 times oversubscribed, the Treasury Department said. The government had hoped to sell between 2.5 billion euros and 3.5 billion euros of the bonds.
A Treasury official said the oversubscription ratio showed the Moody's warning went "totally unnoticed."
Moody's Investors Service sent a shudder through financial markets when it said late Wednesday it has placed Spain's AAA sovereign rating under review for a possible downgrade because of worsening economic prospects.
The agency said it will reevaluate Spain's credit rating over the next three months, adding it expects that any cut would only be by "one, or at most two, notches."
Spain's borrowing costs have risen significantly this year, deepening worries among investors already fretting over the country's ability to climb out of an economic slump while enacting deep spending cuts.
Fitch downgraded Spain's sovereign debt from AAA to AA+ on May 28, saying austerity measures taken by the government will slow growth in the economy. It was Spain's second such downgrade in a month, after Standard & Poor's took a similar move.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
