Greece to sell 1.0 billion euros of 3-month T-bills on June 17

[ATHENS] Greece will auction 1.0 billion euros (S$1.51 billion) of three-month Treasury bills on June 17 to refinance maturing debt, its third sale of short-term treasury paper this month, the country's debt agency said on Friday.

The auction will be another test of whether the leftist-led government can find other sources to plug a potential gap if foreign investors refuse to roll over their T-bill exposure.

As it continues to wrangle with its euro zone backers and the International Monetary Fund to lighten the reforms they demand in return for further loans, Athens wants an increase in the amount of T-bills it can issue to deal with its cash crunch.

But the European Central Bank has resisted calls by Athens to be allowed to bridge its funding gap by having banks buy more short-term government debt before lenders agree that its bailout is back on track and begin to release remaining aid.

A sale of three-month T-bills earlier this week was priced to yield 2.70 per cent.

The settlement date of the new T-bills will be June 19. Only primary dealers will be allowed to participate and no commission is to be paid.

REUTERS