Italy pays lower interest rates on 3-month and 12-month bonds, raises €10 million

MILAN — Italy easily raised €10 million ($12.96 million) from the markets in a pair of bond sales in which it paid lower interest rates.

Yields on 12-month bonds dropped to 2.34 percent from 2.84 percent a month ago. Italy also paid less to sell 3-month bonds to the market on Friday: 0.865 percent, down from 1.249 percent.

While market sentiment has deteriorated due to uncertainty stemming from indecisive Greek elections and ongoing economic woes in Spain, Italian paper only suffered marginally.

The request for 3-month paper was nearly 2.5 percent the offer, while that for the 12-month bonds was 1.78 times.

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