Europe Returns to the Bond Market as Geopolitics Boosts Demand
- Portugal and Ireland may sell debt amid U.S.-Iran tension
- Yields may also fall on the ECB’s asset-purchasing program
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European bond sales are set to kick off in the first full week of 2020, as governments return to a market boosted by tensions in the Middle East.
Portugal, Ireland and Belgium should issue debt maturing in 10 to 15 years at syndicated sales, according to Danske Bank A/S, while regular auctions are due from Germany, Austria, Spain and France. After several months of sagging prices, global bonds are back in demand as haven assets following a U.S. airstrike that killed an Iranian general, sparking fears of a wider conflict.