It seems that the bad news launched by the prime minister Mariano Roajoy (a deficit of 8,5% of GDP in 2012 and not 6% as estimated) have not deterred investors. And the Treasury of Madrid has preferred to remain cautious and not push too hard. The Spanish government this morning placed 3 billion bonos over three, four and six years. The titles triennial have seen a decline in the average rate from 2,966% of the previous auction to 2,44 % of today. Yields on four-year bonds also fell sharply, from 3,74% to 3,37%. Instead, interest increases on sovereign bonds a 6 years: from 3,95% to 4,19%, but on an issue dated November 2008, therefore expiring in 2014.
In recent weeks, yields on Spanish government bonds have decreased and the Treasury has in any case preferred to close the auction before reaching the planned 3,5 billion. Spain has thus completed almost half (42,7%) of its medium and long-term emissions program for 2012.
I am an accomplice in the good progress of the auction the liquidity injections that the European Central Bank (ECB) carried out from December to February (Ltro and Ltro2). According to data released yesterday by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics, Spanish banks have increased their debt to the ECB to a record 152,4 billion euros: almost half of the total loans granted.
