Belgium joined the list of countries that have issued their sovereign debt at negative interest rates on Tuesday morning.

The Belgian Treasury issued three-month bills for EUR1.525bn at a yield of -0.016%.

Germany, Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland and Denmark have also recently issued sovereign debt at negative interest rates as their securities are being seen as refuge assets against the European debt crisis.

On the other end of the spectrum, Greece issued three-month bills at a yield of 4.28%, compared with 4.31% in the previous comparable auction.

The Spanish Treasury also tested the debt market on Tuesday and found lower yields than on previous occasions as it raised a total of EUR3.56bn, above the top end of its EUR2.5-3.5bn target range.

Spain issued EUR2.599bn in 12-month bills at 3.918%, down 5.074% previously. Spain also raised EUR962m in 18-month debt at a yield of 4.242%, down from 5.107%.

SC