Greek and Portuguese government bonds beat their euro-region peers this quarter as the countries made progress toward returning to international credit markets.
The Hellenic Republic’s bonds returned 23 percent, the best performance among 34 sovereign debt markets tracked by Bloomberg World Bond Indexes. The European Commission predicts the Greek economy will grow in 2014 for the first time in seven years, and the nation is now looking to start selling debt again next month after achieving a budget surplus last year. Portugal’s bonds are the next-best earners, gaining 12 percent, as the country moves closer to exiting its bailout program.
“There’s no doubt the levels of debt in these two countries are still high and there are still challenges ahead,” said Richard McGuire, head of European rates strategy at Rabobank International in London. “But investors looking for higher yields are rewarding them for reforms they pushed through, which are beginning to bear fruits.”
(source: Bloomberg)
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