Portugal managed to raise €3 billion at lower rates in a bond sale today, the national debt agency said, despite a recent downgrade by ratings agency Moody's.
The debt agency said it sold €300m in three-month bills at 3.845%, €1.2 billion in six-month bills at 4.332% and €1.5 billion in 12-month bills at 4.943%.
Portugal had initially set a target of between €1.5-2 billion for the sale but raised it due to investor interest, the debt agency said. With the operation, Portugal exceeded its refinancing target of between €5.25 billion and €6.5 billion for the first quarter of 2012. The debt agency puts the country's borrowing needs this year at €17.4 billion.
Moody's on Monday cut its rating on six European nations including Portugal due to the eurozone debt crisis.
The ratings agency said that Europe's weakening economic prospects "threaten the implementation of domestic austerity programmes and the structural reforms that are needed to promote competitiveness."
Lisbon received an EU and International Monetary Fund bailout worth €78 billion in May 2011 in return for a series of tough austerity measures to slash public spending and increase revenues.
The austerity programmes have, however, slowed the economy further and in recent weeks speculation had grown that Portugal may need more help, driving up its borrowing rates.
