Germany enjoys selling debt with rate below zero

BERLIN - Agence France-Presse

Jens Weidmann, the president of German Bundesbank is seen at a conference. REUTERS photo

Investors paid to lend Germany money for six months at an auction on Monday, the country’s central bank said, as they flocked to the safe haven of Europe’s top economy.

The yield or rate on the auction of six-month debt was a record low -0.03 percent, the Bundesbank, which organized the auction, said in a statement.

Despite having to pay to park money with Germany, demand was still strong, with investors bidding for 5.5 billion euros’ worth of bonds with only four billion euros’ worth on offer.

In line with usual practice, the Bundesbank retained about 710 million, meaning only 3.3 billion euros’ worth of bonds were actually sold.

While borrowing costs for crisis-hit Spain soared above the 7-percent danger level on the secondary market earlier Monday, this was the second time Germany has enjoyed a negative rate on its bonds