Italy Sells Maximum EU11 Billion of Bills

11 billion euros ($14.5 billion) of Treasury bills today, meeting its target, and borrowing costs plunged from the previous sale.
The Rome-based Treasury sold 8 billion euros of 182-day bills at 1.969 percent, the lowest since May and down from 3.251 percent at the last auction of similar-maturity securities on Dec. 28.

Investors bid for 1.35 times the amount offered, down from 1.69 times last month. The Treasury also sold 3 billion euros of 331-day bills at a rate of 2.214 percent.

“Bond auctions in Italy are no longer nerve-wracking affairs,” Nicholas Spiro, managing director of Spiro Sovereign Strategy in London, said by e-mail.