Euro zone default insurance costs up after Italy vote

LONDON: Italian default insurance costs rose on Tuesday, pushing up equivalent costs across the currency bloc, after an indecisive election fuelled fears of political instability in the bloc's third largest economy.

Five-year credit default swaps (CDS) on Italian government debt rose 45 basis points to 290 bps, according to data monitor Markit. This means it costs $290,000 annually to buy $10 million of protection against an Italian default using a five-year CDS contract.

Equivalent insurance costs for peripheral peer Spain also rose, and even the cost of protecting against a German default edged higher.