ROME (AP) — Italy has seen its borrowing costs drop for a second day in a row as it easily raised euro3 billion ($3.8 billion) in a bond auction that showed improved investor confidence in the country's financial future.
Italian news agency ANSA says the yield on the three-year bonds fell to 4.83 percent. That was down from the average interest rate of 5.62 percent it had to pay last month and far lower than the 7.89 percent rate it had to pay in November.
On Thursday, Italy easily raised euro12 billion ($15 million) in a pair of bond auctions that also saw its borrowing rates drop sharply.
Italy's euro1.9 trillion ($2.42 trillion) in government debt and heavy borrowing needs this year have made it a focal point of the European debt crisis.
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