Courtesy of Mish.
Sovereign bond yields in Spain and Italy have been climbing across the board, not just the longer durations. Please consider Italy pays dearly to issue one-year debt.
Italy sold €6.5bn of one-year debt at the highest cost since December, underscoring how one of the world’s biggest bond markets has been dragged back into Europe’s debt crisis.
The 364-day bills were priced to yield 3.972 per cent, but the bid-to-cover ratio fell to 1.73 from 1.79. At the last auction of similarly dated debt Rome’s Treasury only paid 2.34 per cent, according to Bloomberg.
Official Denials
Italy’s prime minister Mario Monti “forcefully denied” Italy would be next in line to seek a eurozone bailout.
Monti said comments by Austria’s finance minister that Italy was at risk of needing a rescue were “inappropriate”.
Corrado Passera, the Italian industry minister, also dismissed the idea that Rome might need external help.
Italy 2-Year Government Bonds
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