Greece sells 1.3 bln euros of 3-month T-bills, yield drops
Greece sold 1.3 billion euros ($1.74 billion)of three-month treasury bills on Tuesday to roll over a maturing issue, the country’s debt agency PDMA said.
The T-bills were priced to yield 3.90 percent, down from 3.95 percent in an October auction. The sale’s bid-cover ratio was 2.03, up from 1.89 in the previous sale.
The amount raised included 300 million euros in non-competitive bids. The settlement date for Tuesday’s auction will be November 15.
Greece lost access to bond markets three years ago, when its debt crisis erupted, and monthly T-bill sales are its sole remaining source of market funding.
Athens has a stock of about 15 billion euros of T-bills, which it regularly refinances with the help of Greek banks which buy and then deposit them as collateral to draw liquidity from the ECB. [Reuters]