Bond markets ramped up the pressure on Spain and Italy on Tuesday as Madrid was forced to pay more for three-month debt than Greece did last week, while Rome saw its yield curve invert, a sign of severe stress.
Madrid paid an average yield of 5.11 per cent for the three-month bills, more than double the rate it paid last month and higher than the 4.63 per cent that Athens paid last Tuesday.
Italy saw yields of all its bonds from two- to eight-years rise above its benchmark 10-year note, normally a sign of impending recession. The inversion of its yield curve last happened two weeks ago but, unlike then, purchases of Rome’s bond by the European Central Bank on Tuesday failed to undo the damage.