Germany sold six-month treasury bills at a negative yield for the first time amid demand for the debt securities of Europeâs biggest economy as a haven from the sovereign debt crisis roiling the region.
The government auctioned 3.9 billion euros ($4.98 billion) of securities maturing in July at an average yield of minus 0.0122 percent, the Federal Finance Agency said in an e-mailed statement today. It was the first time it sold the securities at a negative yield, Joerg Mueller, a spokesman in Frankfurt, said in a telephone interview. The Netherlands sold 107-day bills at minus 0.007 percent on Dec. 12.
Some investors are prepared to pay when lending to the most creditworthy governments in exchange for the assurance of getting their capital returned as a solution to the euro-region debt crisis, which forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal to seek bailouts, eludes policy makers. Yields on three-month U.S. Treasury bills fell below zero for the first time in December 2008 after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
âIt just underpins how nervous the overall market is,â said David Schnautz, a fixed-income strategist at Commerzbank AG in London. âThere are investors out there who really worry about the return of their money. Thatâs why they are OK donating some of their money to Germany, just to make sure they get it back.â
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-...-bills-with-yield-of-minus-0-01-correct-.html
The government auctioned 3.9 billion euros ($4.98 billion) of securities maturing in July at an average yield of minus 0.0122 percent, the Federal Finance Agency said in an e-mailed statement today. It was the first time it sold the securities at a negative yield, Joerg Mueller, a spokesman in Frankfurt, said in a telephone interview. The Netherlands sold 107-day bills at minus 0.007 percent on Dec. 12.
Some investors are prepared to pay when lending to the most creditworthy governments in exchange for the assurance of getting their capital returned as a solution to the euro-region debt crisis, which forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal to seek bailouts, eludes policy makers. Yields on three-month U.S. Treasury bills fell below zero for the first time in December 2008 after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
âIt just underpins how nervous the overall market is,â said David Schnautz, a fixed-income strategist at Commerzbank AG in London. âThere are investors out there who really worry about the return of their money. Thatâs why they are OK donating some of their money to Germany, just to make sure they get it back.â
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-...-bills-with-yield-of-minus-0-01-correct-.html
