Nearly Eur8 billion or US$10.5 billion worth of bonds were sold by the European Financial Stability Facility after strong demand was found in Asia. This has helped the euro rise to its highest levels in more than three weeks.
The rescue fund sold five year securities at 0.875% according to Bloomberg obtained figures. Nearly 29% of the buyers were from Asia, which translated to Eur4 billion for the March 2016 bonds issued last February.
The Asian demand was triggered by speculation of monetary outflows from Japan. This comes after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda announced last April 4 that the Japanese central bank would be doubling its monthly bond purchases to 7.5 trillion yen or US$7.6 billion for less than 0.5%. This pushed the yen to its lowest levels against the dollar since 2009.
Nearly 200 investors had ordered for the bonds that totalled Eur14 billion for the bond sale. The total funding target for the second quarter of 2013 is at Eur16.5 billion.
Join the Conversation