Europe

Spanish Yields Reach 12-Week High on Auction; Italian Bonds Drop

Spanish notes led losses in European sovereign debt markets after demand fell and borrowing costs rose in the nation’s first auctions since announcing that public debt will surge to a record this year.

The declines pushed the yield on Spanish five-year notes to the highest in 12 weeks, while similar-maturity Italian debt slid and Greek bonds fell. Benchmark German bunds rose as the nation sold securities due in February 2017. The European Central Bank held its main refinancing rate at a record low 1 percent, in line with the forecast of all 57 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Full story