France successfully raised €7.963 billion in new long-term bonds today, despite lower demand than in previous auctions, the treasury said.
The treasury had set a goal of raising between €7-8 billion for this first auction of the year, after France said in late December it will need to raise €178 billion in medium and long-term bonds in 2012. Yields on the benchmark 10-year bond rose slightly.
France raised just over €4 billion in bonds due to mature on October 25, 2021 at an average rate of 3.29%, compared to a rate of 3.18% during the last similar operation on December 1. For bonds maturing in October 2023, €690m were raised at an average rate of 3.5%.
Longer term, France raised €1.088 billion at an average rate of 3.96% on bonds maturing on April 2035. On bonds maturing on April 2041, France raised €2.165 billion at an average rate of 3.97%, against 3.94% during the last similar operation.
Germany raised €4 billion yesterday with a sale of its 10-year bonds, considered the gold standard of euro zone debt.
Investors were also waiting today for the European Financial Stability Facility, the euro zone bailout fund, to issue its first bonds of the year. The EFSF has said it will issue €3 billion in three-year bonds to help financially struggling Ireland and Portugal.
French consumer confidence stuck at three year low
French consumer confidence remained stuck at a three-year low in December, with the French more fearful of the outlook for their financial situation, according to official data released today.
The overall consumer confidence reading came in at 80 points, where 100 is the long-term average, the state statistics agency INSEE said. The result was unchanged from November and at its lowest since the depths of the global financial crisis in December 2008.
However respondents were more sceptical about the personal financial outlook, with the reading dropping to -30 from -28 in November.
The confidence figures follow disappointing consumer consumption data for November, dropping 0.1% from October and 2.1% from November 2010.
Domestic demand is a key motor of the France's economy and analysts were hoping consumer consumption would help contribute to growth this year.
