Italian yields spike as sovereign fears intensify

Fears over Italy's ability to push ahead with fiscal reforms have pushed bond spreads back up towards record levels as investors rush to safety once more.

Italian 10-year bond prices have fallen for an 11th consecutive day, with yields today rising above the 5.5% mark for the first time since the ECB began buying Italian debt on 8 August. The record yield is above 6% and was seen over a month ago. The spread between Italian and German 10-year government bonds, meanwhile, has widened to 365 basis points, another post-ECB intervention high. That increase was in part driven by a new record low in German 10-year bond yields, which have again dipped below 2%, falling by more than 10 basis points to 1.875% as investors seek safe havens. Gr...