LISBON: Portugal placed 1.1 billion euros (1.25 billion U.S. dollars) in three and 11-month treasury bonds on Wednesday, according to the country’s state debt management agency IGCP. Portugal placed 300 million euros in 3 month treasury bonds and 800 million euros in 11 month treasury bonds.
The shorter term bonds saw the average yield fall deeper into negative territory, settling at minus 0.004 percent, while in the last similar auction in February the basic interest was 0.008 percent. The longer-term bonds at 11 months saw the average yield fall to 0.037 percent, compared with a 0.100 percent yield in a similar auction in February.
Portugal’s placement of 1.1 billion euros of debt was above the maximum amount forecast of 1 billion euros. Filipe Silva, head of asset management at Banco Carregosa, told local media that Portugal had managed to “issue at very low rates, close to historical minimums,” adding that the country had benefited from the European Central Bank’s stimulus plan which involved buying sovereign debt.
On March 10, the European Central Bank (ECB) revealed a strong stimulus plan aimed at boosting eurozone economies, pushing newly printed money into the economy and reducing the interest rate on deposits held by banks at the ECB.
