Greece pays higher rate in new govt's first bond sale

The new Greek government held its first bond auction since taking office on Wednesday, raising 812.5 million euros in six-month treasury bills on a higher rate than last month.

The rate was 2.75 percent, compared with 2.30 percent secured on comparable bonds issued on January 7, the debt agency said in a statement.

The sale, which is being closely watched as an indication of investor confidence in the new Athens government, attracted less interest than previously.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis are this week visiting EU leaders and officials at the European Central Bank to seek support for their bid to renegotiate Greece's mountain of debt and end austerity.

The Greek stock market soared on Tuesday on indications that Athens may be able to reach a deal with its creditors. It was stable in early trading Wednesday, though after just over two hours was down 2.03 percent at 824 points.

Unable to access long-term lending markets because of prohibitive rates, Greece has been issuing bonds that mature after a few months to cover its immediate funding needs.

Greek banks are effectively the only buyers, since the bonds currently have junk status.

On Wednesday, the government initially auctioned 625 million euros of bonds and after receiving offers worth 813 million, accepted 812.5 million.

Last month, the government offered 1.250 billion euros, received offers of 1.975 billion euros and accepted 1.625 billion euros.