MADRID: Spain sold 3.53 billion euros ($4.82 billion) of 5- and 10-year bonds at auction on Thursday at record low yields as investor appetite for euro zone peripheral debt outweighed concern over this weekend's European elections.

The Treasury had aimed to sell between 2.5 billion and 3.5 billion euros of the two benchmarks.

The Treasury sold 1.54 billion euros of a bond due April 30, 2019, at an average yield of 1.648 percent, down from 1.663 percent at the last auction April 24. The bond was 1.9 times subscribed compared to 2.3 times in April.

The April 30, 2024 bond sold 1.99 billion euros, although demand exceeded supply by 1.7 times, compared with 1.8 times when it last went to market on April 24.

The bond sold for an average yield of 2.968 percent after 3.059 percent previously.

<Center><b><i>Copyright Reuters, 2013</b></i><br></center>*