Spain may struggle to sell 1.8 billion euros ($2.4 billion) of bonds as the prospect of a credit downgrade and a flood of new issues by European governments sap investor appetite, according to Axa Investment Managers.
The government of Europe’s fifth-largest economy may be forced to offer the bonds at a discount today or sell less than it planned, said Axel Botte, a strategist at Axa Investment Managers, which has about $800 billion under management. Standard & Poor’s said Jan. 12 it may lower Spain’s AAA credit rating.
“There is a clear risk that the auction will be undersubscribed,” Botte said in a telephone interview from Paris yesterday. “It’s happening at a time when the auction calendar has been very heavy and S&P is on the brink of cutting Spain’s debt ratings.”
O Insurgente 