Portugal successfully auctioned €1.5bn in six- and 12-month Treasury Bills today at lower interest rates than a month ago.

The Portuguese public treasury institute said the state had managed to get the maximum amount it was looking for despite fears that the situation in Spain would overshadow investors’ decisions.

Lisbon sold €0.5bn in six-month notes at a rate of 2.635%, well down on last month’s 2.935%, with demand outstripping supply by a factor of 4.3.

One-year notes demanded higher yields (3.834%) but still better than the 3.908 the market was demanding in the last auction.

Filipe Silva from Banco Carregosa said “the yields obtained by the Portuguese state are in line with the market and a bit lower than last month. We can say it went well, considering the current economic climate”.