Portugal

A eurozone periphery sovereign is set to meet investors before a possible euro syndication, as a pair of countries from the region unveiled their funding plans for the rest of the year.

Italy shunted just over €2bn of redemptions due over the next three years into the next decade, as Portugal sliced several basis points from its short term borrowing costs.

Spain kicked off a busy week for the eurozone periphery with a bill sale where the sovereign’s borrowing costs repeated their pattern for much of this year by bumping around 0%.

Italy’s borrowing costs dropped across the curve at an auction on Friday, although its yields at the longer end are still some distance from the euro-era lows hit earlier this year.

The Euromoney Smaller European Companies Index Series currently comprises 1350 companies across 16 European countries.

A European sovereign debt management office is mulling a return to dollars before year end to build its curve in the currency — after ending a four year absence from the market in July 2014.

Portugal attracted more than €5.5bn of demand for the first syndicated deal from a peripheral sovereign since mid-June on Wednesday.

Portuguese paper maker Portucel Soporcel on Monday said in a notice filed with the Luxembourg exchange that it will offer, in September, its second high yield bond to repay part of its 2013 notes.

Portugal’s short term borrowing costs dipped back into negative territory on Wednesday for the first time since May, as the third Greek bail-out package swung into action and Ireland cancelled debt.

Portugal overshot its maximum target at a dual tranche auction on Thursday, and was also able to reduce its borrowing costs on the shorter of the two tenors on sale.

Spain’s three month borrowing costs dipped back into negative territory and to a record low on Tuesday, as the eurozone periphery enjoyed a strong run of trading before Portuguese auctions later this week.

Fitch published a peer review of five Portuguese covered bond programmes on Wednesday, rating them all in the BBB basket. Though the quality of the cover pools is high, as reflected by one of the lowest portfolio loss rates in Europe, the risk of a disruption to the flow of payments is also high.