Thursday, May 5, 2011

Portuguese borrowing costs fall but bailout relief is muted

"Against this background, while the confirmation of the bailout should provide some reassurance that Portugal will be able meet its upcoming bond redemptions, it won't put an end to speculation that - along with Greece and perhaps others - it will sooner or later need to undertake some form of debt restructuring," he said.

While bond yields fell on two-year, five-year and ten-year Portuguese bonds, traders said there was little actual buying of bonds.

The rally was limited by worries over whether Finland could stall the deal, concerns that Greece may seek to restructure its debt - this has been a driving factor behind rising peripheral yields in recent weeks - and caution because the bailout is still subject to cross-party approval in Portugal.

"Even though we have clarity regarding the amount, the more interesting detail will be the interest rate that Portugal will have to pay on the loans so we are still waiting for this," said WestLB rate strategist Michael Leister.

The interest rate on Portugal's bailout loan is expected to be set at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in mid-May.

The deal needs broad cross-party support because the collapse of Socrates' government last month - pushing up borrowing rates and forcing Lisbon to seek a financial rescue - means the winner of a June 5 snap general election will implement it.

Agreement on the loan terms is needed by June 15, when Lisbon needs to redeem ?4.9bn of bonds.

Mr Socrates said at the time of the request for help last month: "I have always said that asking for aid would be the final way to go, but we have reached the moment."

When the initial request for financial aid was made, the European Commission president, Jos� Manuel Barroso, said that Portugal's request for help would be dealt with as quickly as possible.

When the request was made the UK Treasury said that it was preparing to become involved in any discussions with the EU's 27 member states regarding Portugal.

Mr Barroso offered assurances to Mr S�crates that Portugal's request for support would be "processed in the swiftest possible manner, according to the rules applicable".

He also said that he had "confidence in Portugal's capacity to overcome the present difficulties".

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