Spain sells $7 bln in short-term debt

PanARMENIAN.Net - Spain on Tuesday, February 14 sold 5.4 billion euros (7 billion dollars) of government bonds at favourable interest rates shortly after the ratings agency Moody's cut its credit rating, M&C reported citing DPA.

One-year bonds fetched a yield of 1.9 per cent, down from 2.2 per cent at the previous auction. Bonds of 18 months had a yield of 2.4 per cent, down from 2.5 per cent.

The auction was eighth consecutive one in which yields went down.

Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro said it was 'contradictory' for Moody's to issue a positive assessment of Spain's economic reforms while simultaneously downgrading its debt rating to A3 from A1 with a negative outlook.

Hours earlier, the ratings agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor's had downgraded the biggest Spanish banks.

Moody's downgraded six European countries on Monday and changed its outlook on the triple AAA rating of Austria, France and Britain from stable to negative.