Italian bond yields rise after downgrade

LONDON: Italian government bond yields rose and the spread over German Bunds widened on Tuesday after credit rating agency Standard & Poor's surprised markets by being the first to cut the country's credit rating.

S&P lowered Italy's long-term credit rating one notch to A, three notches below Moody's current rating.

Italian 10-year government bond yields rose 13 basis points to 5.72 percent, while 2-year yields were up 12 bps at 4.41 percent.

The 10-year spead over Bunds widened 17 basis points to 387 basis points.

Copyright Reuters, 2011