Italy Yields Reach 8-Year Low on Leadership Putsch; Bunds Drop
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Italy’s 10-year yields dropped to the lowest level since 2006 this week amid investor bets that a transition of power won’t immediately damage the ability of Europe’s biggest debtor to finance itself.
Volumes on Italian bond futures climbed to the highest in a year on Feb. 13 as Prime Minister Enrico Letta agreed to step down under pressure from his party’s leader Matteo Renzi. The additional yield, or spread, investors demand to hold Italy’s 10-year bonds over equivalent-maturity German bunds slipped toward a 2 1/2-year low. Portugal sold securities for a second month and Spain’s 10-year borrowing costs slid to the least in eight years as investors favored higher-yielding assets.