Investing.com - Italy saw borrowing costs rise to the highest level since December at an auction of 12-month government bonds on Wednesday, amid lingering concerns over the health of the euro zone’s third-largest economy.
Italy’s Treasury sold the full-targeted amount of EUR8.5 billion worth of 12-month government bonds at an average yield of 1.34%, the highest since December 2012 and up from 1.053% at a similar auction last month.
The yield on Italian 10-year bonds stood at 4.514% following the auction.
Data on Tuesday showed that the recession in Italy was deeper than had been previously thought.
The economy contracted by 0.3% in the second quarter, worse than the initial estimate of a 0.2% contraction, bringing the annualized rate of contraction to 2.1% from the initial estimate for a 2% contraction.
The euro was little changed against the U.S. dollar following the auction, with EUR/USD easing up 0.03% to trade at 1.3271.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mixed. Italy FTSE MIB Index rose 0.7%, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.15%, Germany’s DAX tacked on 0.3%, while London’s FTSE 100 eased down 0.2%.
Italy’s Treasury sold the full-targeted amount of EUR8.5 billion worth of 12-month government bonds at an average yield of 1.34%, the highest since December 2012 and up from 1.053% at a similar auction last month.
The yield on Italian 10-year bonds stood at 4.514% following the auction.
Data on Tuesday showed that the recession in Italy was deeper than had been previously thought.
The economy contracted by 0.3% in the second quarter, worse than the initial estimate of a 0.2% contraction, bringing the annualized rate of contraction to 2.1% from the initial estimate for a 2% contraction.
The euro was little changed against the U.S. dollar following the auction, with EUR/USD easing up 0.03% to trade at 1.3271.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mixed. Italy FTSE MIB Index rose 0.7%, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.15%, Germany’s DAX tacked on 0.3%, while London’s FTSE 100 eased down 0.2%.