Greek bond yields tumble as new bond sale meets with solid demand

Long-dated Greek government bond yields fell to their lowest in almost six months on Tuesday, outpacing euro zone peers, as demand for a new Greek five-year bond topped 10 billion euros.

More broadly, euro zone bond markets were supported by caution before Britain's parliament votes on Tuesday on proposals to change Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, and ahead of high-level talks between the United States and China on trade and Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting.

New bonds sold via syndicates of banks from Greece, Belgium and Austria were also in the spotlight.

Greece was set to raise 2.5 billion euros from a new five-year bond at a relatively competitive yield after drawing strong demand.

The sale marked a small but significant step towards a resumption of refinancing its debt in the markets after years of tight supervision under bailouts.

Greece's 10-year bond yield fell 8 basis points to 3.97 percent, its lowest level since early August. Five-year bond yields were last down over 6 bps at 2.974 percent, also its lowest in six months.

In the rest of the euro area, 10-year bond yields were little changed on the day.

Greece has tested market appetite under the watch of its international lenders in recent years. It sold 3 billion euros of seven-year bonds nearly a year ago. [Reuters]