ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek raised 3 billion euros ($3.6 billion) in a 5-year bond auction Wednesday at a record-low, near-zero yield, authorities said.
The country’s Public Debt Management Agency said demand for the bond exceeded 20 billion euros ($24 billion) and the yield was just below 0.2%.
In a tweet, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras described the auction result as a “vote of confidence from international investors.”
Helped by massive pandemic-related support from the European Central Bank, demand for Greek debt has remained high despite the impact of COVID-19, which pushed the country back into recession last year with an 8.2% contraction of gross domestic product, and the national debt that’s just above 200% of GDP.
In March, Greece raised 2.5 billion euros ($3 billion) in a 30-year government bond sale with a yield just below 2%.
Greece moved closer to investment grade last month after Standard & Poor’s upgraded its sovereign rating to BB from BB- with a positive outlook.
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