Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Tuesday a request for European aid was not imminent following a report the country could apply for help as soon as this weekend. Rajoy made the comments after meeting in Madrid with the 17 leaders of Spain's regions.
European officials told Reuters late on Monday that Spain was ready as early as next weekend to ask the euro zone and the European Central Bank to start buying its bonds, but Germany had signalled it should hold off. "If a news agency reports that we'll ask for aid this weekend, there can only be two explanations; that the agency is right, and knows more than I do, which is possible, or that they are not right," Rajoy said with a smile when asked about the Reuters' report.
"But, if it helps, and you accept that what I say is more important than this leak, I say no (we won't ask for aid this weekend.)" Spain is the current focus of investor attention as Rajoy struggles to deflate one of the euro zone's largest public deficits while the country sinks deeper into its second recession in three years.
The premium Spain pays on its benchmark 10-year bond eased on Tuesday as investors focused on signs Madrid may be open to asking for help. The Treasury faces a new test of investor appetite on Thursday when it issues bonds maturing in 2014, 2015 and 2017. Madrid announced further belt-tightening measures for its 2013 budget on Thursday sand said it would detail some 43 structural reforms over the next six months. The number of jobless in the country rose further in September as service sector layoffs accelerated at the end of a busy summer tourist season, suggesting one in four of the workforce is now unemployed.
Comments
Comments are closed.