Greece raises 1.3 billion euros at higher rate: debt agency

Greece on Wednesday raised 1.3 billion euros ($1.47 billion) in three-month treasury bills at higher interest in an ongoing scramble for cash. The country's debt agency said it had accepted the entire amount offered by creditors, paying 2.7 percent compared with 2.5 percent in an equivalent sale a month earlier. Greece needs to find some 6.0 billion euros this month to repay maturing treasury bills and loans from the International Monetary Fund.
The new radical left government elected in January on an anti-austerity platform has received no money from Greece's outstanding EU-IMF bailout because it is still in negotiations with the country's international creditors on a new loan deal. With tax revenue lagging behind, the government has looked at borrowing money from state pension funds and EU farm subsidy payments to keep up with its debt obligations.