France raises 10bn euros at record low rates

PARIS: France raised 9.87 billion euros ($12.5 billion) Thursday in an issue of medium- and long-term term bonds at record low rates with strong demand from investors, the French state debt agency said.

The yield on two-year bonds fell to a record low since the creation of the euro to 0.54 percent, from 0.74 percent in the previous auction on May 16.

On five-year bonds the rate of return to investors fell to a record low of  1.43 percent, from 1.72 percent on May 16.

France also issued long-term inflation-indexed bonds, with the rate of return for investors on bonds due in July 2023 at 0.91 percent plus the rate of French inflation, down from 1.19 percent before inflation in the last auction on May 16.