Belgium sells $3.9 billion bonds at lower yields

Belgium borrowed 2.9 billion euros ($3.9 billion) of longer-term funds at sharply reduced borrowing costs on Monday, selling 10-year bonds at the lowest yield since November 2010. The sale of five-, 10-and 30-year OLOs placed at the top of a target range of 1.9 to 2.9 billion euros and pointed to the progress the Treasury has made in easing concerns that Belgium could be drawn into the bloc’s crisis. Yields for the 10-year benchmark fell to an average 3.737 per cent from 4.302 per cent when it was first sold via a syndicate of banks in January. The five-year yield dropped to 2.621 per cent from 3.897 per cent last October and the yield for the 2041 bond to 4.158 per cent from 5.784 last November. The Treasury has now raised 8.223 billion euros or 32 per cent of its full-year target so far in 2012. It plans to sell 26 billion euros in OLOs this year, sharply down from 40.9 billion euros in 2011, although it may need to raise more given it has factored in an ambitious 6 billion euros in bonds sold to the general public. “It is highly impressive that 90 per cent of what Belgium has issued this year is for 10 years or longer... This is what the doctor ordered,” said interest rate strategist David Schnautz of Commerzbank.