Portugal raises 1,250 million euros. Three-month rate is the most negative ever
In the first financing operation of the quarter, Portugal was able to get the maximum amount it hoped for. It got negative interest rates in both maturities.
Portugal returned to the market, this time to issue short term debt. It was able to get the 1,250 million euros it was hoping for, with the majority being placed in the longer maturity (950 million), in a double auction of Treasury bills in which IGCP registered negative interest rates, once again. The three-month rate was the lowest ever.
The entity headed by Cristina Casalinho wanted to place 1,250 million euros in three and 11 months’ auctions, and it was able to get that full amount with minimum interest rates. The three-months rate was -0.43%, below the -0.417% registered in the last issuance on February 21, when the 11-year maturity got an interest rate of -0.389%. In the previous issuance, the rate had stood at -0.393%.
This operation is the first of its kind in the second quarter of the year, a period in which the entity headed by Cristina Casalinho aims to issue a maximum amount of 4,250 million euros through short-term debt. After the auction, there are 3,000 million left until the end of June.
The first financing operation of the quarter took place last week, with the Treasury placing three billion euros in 15-year Treasury bonds, by means of a syndicated operation that included six banks. That issuance was highly demanded, with orders of around 16 billion euros.
Portugal paid a 2.325% interest rates in the 15-year maturity, in a context of a plunge in interests from international markets. The Portuguese ten-year Government bond yields are standing at minimums. The rate fell to 1.595%, a minimum since the first of April of 2015. As for the five-year maturity, Treasury bond interests retrieved to 0.540%.
