Athens goes back three years. The interest rate on ten-year Greek government bonds it dropped today by almost a percentage point, down to 8,47%. It's about the lowest return since June 2010, but it must be taken into account that the restructuring of Athens' sovereign debt dates back to March 2012.
The decline came in the aftermath of theFitch upgrade on sovereign rating of the Hellenic country. Yesterday the rating agency raised its rating on Greece's creditworthiness from CCC to B-, with stable outlook, referring to the rebalancing of the economy and the "progress in the decumulation of the budget deficit which has reduced the risks of an exit from the monetary union".
On the contrary: the government of Antonis Samaras announced on Monday its intention to return to the bond market in 2014. Athens has been out of the bond markets since January 2010, when it became the first country in the Eurozone to ask for international aid from the EU and the IMF (which then totaled 273 billion).
According to European Commission, Greece will be able to meet the budget objectives agreed with the Troika for 2013 and 2014, but in the two-year period 2015-2016 it will have to approve further cuts in public spending.
