Trading in bonds rose 80 pct in ’02
Trading volume in Greek government bonds via the central bank’s HDAT electronic trading system rose 80 percent in 2002 as global uncertainty reinforced interest in government paper, the Bank of Greece announced yesterday. Turnover on HDAT for the full year in 2002 reached 566 billion euros in comparison with 314 billion euros in the previous year. The central bank said that the positive performance of the Greek market was reflected in the narrowing of the yield spreads between Greek and German bonds. «In particular, the average spread of the respective 10-year bonds declined to a historical low of 23 basis points in December from 26 basis points in November and 38 basis points on December 2001,» it said.
