Greece won a vote of confidence from financial markets when investors snapped up a government bond issue yesterday, easing fears that its debt crisis could prevent it from raising money. Athens sold €5bn ($6.8bn) in 10-year bonds and received orders for three times that amount.
The bond issue was evidence of optimism in the markets that the Greek government will avoid defaulting on its debt repayments. A few weeks ago it would have struggled to raise money in the capital markets.
However, the interest rate the country has been forced to pay to attract investors is one of the highest Greece has had to pay for a 10-year bond since it joined the euro in 2001. Currency strategists said such punitive rates were not sustainable.