Spain’s borrowing costs have soared to reach their highest level since the country joined the eurozone, close to levels where other debt-stricken countries such as Greece and Ireland have asked for an international bailout.
The interest rate – or yield – on Spanish 10-year bonds, a key indicator of market confidence in a country’s ability to pay down its debt, shot up 25 basis points Wednesday to 6.67 percent – matching the level it hit at the height of the eurozone crisis late last year, according to financial data provider FactSet. The yield later fell back to 6.66 percent in afternoon trading.
A yield of seven percent is seen by many analysts as unsustainable for a country to continue financing itself over the long term. Meanwhile, the difference between the Spanish bond and the equivalent safe-haven German bunds was a record 5.36 percentage points.
The country’s conservative government has introduced harsh austerity measures, including spending cuts on health and education, in an attempt to control the level of debt.
It is also trying to reassure investors worried that the woes of the banking sector will force the country to require a bailout like Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Spain’s banking industry has been saddled with a large amount of unpaid, so-called “toxic” debt following the collapse of the country’s real estate bubble in 2008. There is a concern that Spain’s government will not be able to find the funds to prop up the sector and keep the economy afloat.
Concerns over Spain’s nationalized lender Bankia, and the government’s ability to come up with a 19 billion euro ($A24.28 billion) rescue package for the bank, have sparked the latest round of investor fears over the country.
