Investing.com - Italy saw borrowing costs fall to the lowest level on record at an auction of 12-month government bonds on Wednesday, amid easing concerns over the health of the euro zone’s third-largest economy.
Italy’s Treasury sold the full-targeted amount of EUR8 billion worth of 12-month government bonds at an average yield of 0.676, a record-low and down from 0.735% at a similar auction last month.
The yield on Italian 10-year bonds stood at 3.67% following the auction, the lowest since February 2006.
The euro was little changed against the U.S. dollar following the auction, with EUR/USD easing up 0.01% to trade at 1.3640.
Meanwhile, European stock markets held on to gains. Italy FTSE MIB Index rose 0.7%, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.8%, France’s CAC 40 picked up 0.6%, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.9%, while London’s FTSE 100 tacked on 0.45%.