The Spanish Treasury had a successful debt issue yesterday. While the week began with a rising risk premium and uncertainty that led people to question its success, Spain proved that it had not problems selling national debt. The country's banks are still the most popular buyers.
The government paid higher interest rates on its bonds than it would have like to pay, but not as much as it feared.
What matters most is that the Treasury has raised half of their borrowing needs for 2012, which buys them two months on the calendar: April and June.
Their success followed early reliance on a steady stream of funds from the European Central Bank (ECB) during the first few months of the year. That stream has dried up for now.
