Portugal bond issue raises €750m

Portugal has raised €750m (£641m) in a successful Government bond auction, following in the footsteps of other southern European nations.

Traders said the demand for Portugal's four- and 10-year bonds was the highest it has been all year. Orlando Green, a bond strategist at Crédit Agricole , told the BBC there were "no hiccups and demand was pretty high". The average yield on the 10-year issues was 6.2%, up slightly from 5.3% in August. Yields on the four-year bonds was 4.7%, also up from 3.6% last month. Yesterday, Ireland sold €1.5bn worth of four- and eight-year bonds, yielding between 4.7% and 6%. The spread on 10-year Portuguese debt over German bunds narrowed 14bp yesterday ,ahead of the sale. A poll c...