LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Bailed-out Portugal has managed to sell €2 billion ($2.5 billion) in short-term bonds at a lower cost than Spain — suggesting the much larger country's troubles are not spilling over to its neighbor.
Portugal's government sold €1.25 billion in 12-month paper at an interest rate of 3.5 percent, against 3.8 percent at a similar auction held in June. Investors bought €750 million of 18-month bonds at a rate of 2.3 percent compared to 2.7 percent a month ago.
The yields investors demanded Wednesday for the Portuguese notes were below those for Spanish 12-month and 18-month bonds sold a day earlier.
Filipe Silva, debt manager of Lisbon-based financial group Banco Carregosa, says buyers of Portuguese bonds "are ignoring to a certain degree what's happening in Spain."
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