At the close of the week, the spread of Greek 10-year bonds against the corresponding German securities fell to a historically low level – before the crisis – since 2008.

Specifically, at the close of the market, its performance Greek 10-year bond was just 0.75% away against that of the corresponding German bond.

The positive course of the Greek economy combined with the results of fiscal management resulted in Greek bonds being traded on the secondary market with yields that are compatible with a credit rating much higher than that of Greece from the international rating agencies.

It is indicative that today the margin, i.e. the difference in yield between Greek and German bonds, fell to historically low levels (0.75%). It is recalled that Greek bonds were trading at these levels long before the 2011 crisis that led to the Memoranda and the exclusion of the country from international markets. Specifically, in 2008, on average, the margin was 0.82%, as the yield of the Greek 10-year bond was 4.80% compared to 3.98% of the corresponding German bond.

Elsewhere, the week ended today with a small rise in yields as the market was affected by yesterday’s announcements by the head of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde.

Investors interpreted the ECB chief’s reluctance as “interest rates will remain at a restrictive level as long as this is deemed necessary” as a “message” for a slow rate de-escalation process.

Although from the statements of Kr. Lagarde made it clear that inflation is going to take shape at the target of 2% on a “stable basis”, on the other hand it was underlined that the ECB will not insist on a specific course of interest rates, which probably disappointed the markets betting on consecutive interest rate cuts in the next year.

The European Central Bank has meanwhile pledged to be more transparent about its holdings of maturing bonds from the pandemic portfolio (PEP) as reinvestments come to an end. From January 8, the ECB will publish the data on a monthly basis.

In the secondary bond market today, and more specifically in the Electronic Transaction System (HDAT) of the Bank of Greece, 102 million transactions were recorded. euros, of which 36 million euros were related to purchase orders.

The yield of the Greek 10-year bond stood at 3.03% against 2.28% of the corresponding German bond, resulting in a spread of 0.75%.