Italian rates fall in 8.5-billion euro debt auction

Six-month Treasury bills were sold at a rate of 0.731 percent compared with the level of 0.949 percent demanded by investors at the last similar sale in December.

Demand was 1.65 times higher than the offer, which was also an increase on the ratio of 1.57 last month.

Italians take to the polls on February 24-25 to elect a government that will be tasked with dragging the country out of a painful recession and reducing its crushing public debt burden.