Greece rolls over 3-month T-bills in successful auction, yield steady
Cash-strapped Greece sold 1.3 billion euros ($1.46 billion) of three-month T-bills on Wednesday to refinance a maturing issue as its government wrangles with its euro zone backers and the IMF over an aid-for-reforms deal.
Despite an increasingly dire financial position as bailout aid remains frozen, Athens has been able to find domestic buyers to plug any gaps resulting from foreign investors’ refusal to roll over their own Greek T-bill holdings.
Debt agency PDMA sold three-month month paper at a yield of 2.70 percent, unchanged from a previous sale earlier this month.
The sale’s bid-cover ratio was 1.30, unchanged from the last sale, showing no deterioration in demand despite tight liquidity conditions.
The amount raised included 300 million euros in non-competitive bids. The settlement date for Wednesday’s auction will be June 19.
Greece has asked its EU partners and the International Monetary Fund to allow an increase in the amount of T-bills it can issue to deal with its cash crunch and debt repayments.
But the European Central Bank has resisted calls by Athens to bridge its funding gap by having banks buy more short-term government debt before the country’s bailout is back on track. [Reuters]
