European sovereign bond sales attracted an unprecedented level of interest, as investors sought to lock in yield amid expectations that euro zone interest rates will remain near record lows in 2020.
Orders for a new 30-year Italian government bond have topped 44 billion Euros, the highest-ever demand for an Italian syndicated issue, one of the deal’s lead managers said.
Spain amassed €53billion of bids for its new 10-year bond— the most ever for any euro bond — in a sale that raised €10 billion, shortly after the country formed a new government and broke a lengthy political impasse, while Belgium, Cyprus and Ireland have all racked up their biggest-ever order books in recent days.
Germany also raised 1.114 billion Euros in an auction to top up its 0.0%, 30-year Bund.
The European Central Bank has signaled it will leave monetary policy on hold this year keeping interest rates in negative territory and buying $20 billion of bonds a month in an attempt to bolster economic growth.
Despite a flurry of bond sales in January, usually the busiest month for markets, 2020 as a whole is expected to see the smallest net issuance of new debt in the euro zone since the financial crisis. Some investors are rushing to snap up the plentiful supply of new bonds while they can.
Source:
https://www.ft.com/content/004ef94c-3879-11ea-a6d3-9a26f8c3cba4
