Italian rates edge upwards in EUR 8.5 bn debt auction

(ROME) - Italian borrowing rates rose slightly in a short-term debt auction that raised 8.5 billion euros ($11.27 billion) on Thursday, as investors braced for two months of political uncertainty ahead of a general election in February.

The Treasury raised 8.5 billion euros in six-month bills at a rate of 0.94 percent, compared with 0.919 percent at the last comparable operation in November, the Bank of Italy said.

Italy also raised 3.25 billion euros in two-year zero coupon notes at a rate of 1.88 percent, down from 1.92 percent in November.

Italy's previous short, medium and long-term public debt sales in mid-December had all seen a drop in interest rates.

Thursday's auction was the first since outgoing Premier Mario Monti resigned, kicking off the election campaign, and announced his readiness to lead Italy again if called to do so after the vote on February 24-25.

"We are expecting increased volatility on the markets in the wait for the elections," Donatella Principle, analyst at Schroders Italia, was quoted as saying by Il Sole 24 Ore business daily.

However, "it is an opportunity to buy bonds rather than an alarm signal," she said.

On Friday, the Treasury is to issue 6.0 billion euros in five- and ten-year bonds in the last auction of 2012.