Spain sells 4bn euros at quadruple bond sale, yields mixed

05 May, 2016

MADRID: Spain sold 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion) of bonds at auction on Thursday at mixed yields as investors eye Spain's second election in six months in June and tensions mount over the possibility of Britain leaving Europe.

The Spanish Treasury had aimed to sell between 3 billion and 4.5 billion euros in the sale, and it has now issued about 42 percent of its year-end medium and long-term issuance target.

Spanish political parties have failed to reach a consensus on a majority government since the elections in December, prompting a recalled election which is widely expected to produce similar results.

Spain sold 1.9 billion euros of a new 0.3 percent 5-year inflation-linked bond maturing on November 30, 2021, at an average yield of -0.108 percent. The Treasury had planned to sell between 1.5 billion to 2.0 billion euros of the bond.

The Spanish Treasury also sold 489 million euros of a April 30, 2026 bond for 1.592 percent, compared to an average yield of 1.496 percent when it was last issued in April.

Demand outstripped supply by 4.3 times compared to 1.5 times at the last auction.

Spain issued 851 million euros of a 1.95 percent bond due July 30, 2030 at an average yield of 2.032 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.6 times. That compared to a yield of 2.097 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.7 times in March.

The Treasury also sold 684 million euros of a bond due July 30, 2040 with a 4.9 percent coupon at an average yield of 2.64 percent and saw bid-to-cover, a measure of demand, of 1.6.

That compared to a yield of 2.72 percent and demand twice that of supply when the paper last sold in December.

Copyright Reuters, 2016

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