For the first time in history, the 10-year Portuguese Treasury Bonds interest traded this Thursday at negative interest rates on the secondary market, at -0,01%.
Portuguese debt interest rates have been renewing historic lows in recent weeks, but positive news about the vaccine has driven interest rates in peripheral countries to rise slightly. However, this week they returned to the downward trend and reached a record today.
Following the downward trend in the eurozone, the interest rate on sovereign debt fell this Thursday morning to 0,003%, a new historic low, but fell further and for a moment touched negative interest rates, where all maturities are up to and including including the nine-year-old, and is now trading at 0,007%.
Despite the crisis caused by the pandemic, the action of the European Central Bank (ECB) has benefited the cost of Portuguese debt.
In the primary market, the IGCP - Treasury and Public Debt Management Agency issued, in October, for the first time, eight-year debt with a negative rate (-0,085%). Before that, he had only been able to charge for borrowing for six years, at auctions in January and July.
The decline in eurozone yields was accelerated by the ECB's communication after the October 29 meeting, when Christine Lagarde said the central bank would “recalibrate” all instruments, including asset purchase programs.
Asked on 13 November whether these news are already incorporated in the debt price, Cristina Casalinho, president of IGCP, responded to Jornal Económico in a minimalist but clear way: “market prices tend to reflect all the information available to the public general".
(In update)
