Italy also passes the markets' second post-holiday test. The Treasury placed all the 9 billion Bots every six months offered at auction. The cup of interest average placement dropped sharply, going from 2,454% a month ago to1,585%, the lowest since last March.
Yesterday they were placed 3 billion Ctz maturing in 2014 and yielding 3,064%, down sharply from the 4,86% yield at the end of July.
Lo BTP-Bund spread however, it remains nailed to 450 basis points, with yields on our ten-year bonds at 5,846%, a sign that the markets are confident: yes to short maturities, pending ECB purchases; no to long commitments, given that the European crisis seems increasingly serious than expected.
Here are the next steps for the Treasury: on Thursday it will be the turn of the Btp 10 (3-4 billion) and the Btp 5 (1,75-2 billion), then the Cct maturing in June 2017 indexed to the Euribor (500 million-1 billion).
