Investors snap up high yielding Portugal debt issue

Portugal has successfully issued €500m of short-dated government bonds, but at a higher yield than its previous auction.

The government's sale of the one-year bonds was 2.5 times oversubscribed, but the yield was well above its previous bond sale. Portugal sold the €500m issue in 12-month treasury bills at an average yield of 5.281% - compared to its previous average of 4.813% at its last auction on November 17. The bond auction comes at a time when the contagion spotlight falls on the country as it struggles with high debt levels. Many analysts believe the country is next in line to receive a bailout following the emergency package agreed for Ireland last week. But the country's Prime Minister Jose ...