The race of the Btp-Bund spread does not stop and when trading reopens it starts breaking records again. The new surge this morning raised the bar to 264 basis points. The new primacy of the gap between the yield on ten-year Italian and German government bonds is linked above all to the high tension that reigns on the markets in relation to our country's sovereign debt. There is a strong fear that the financial crisis of peripheral states is about to infect Italy as well.
There was no reassuring news from Brussels over the weekend. The EU is delaying the decision on the new tranche of aid for Greece, but at the same time it has been admitted that the emergency funds could now also be used for Italy. Last Friday the spread it had shot up to a high of 248 basis points, closing at 245. A new momentum then broke through the ceiling of 250 basis points this morning shortly after 8,30 when trading on the European market was still quite thin.
Spanish government bonds are doing even worse, reaching a spread of 303 basis points. Also in this case it is the absolute record since the adoption of the single currency.
