Analysis-Euro area governments smash bond sale records in hefty funding year

Euro zone governments sold a record amount of bonds directly to investors in January, seeing the highest demand ever, as hopes grow for interest rate cuts to support a weakening economy. This is in stark contrast to worries around high government funding needs in 2023, especially in the United States, which sparked a bond rout and pushed borrowing costs to their highest in over a decade in October. Euro area states raised a record 73 billion euros ($79.1 billion) from syndicated bond sales in January, LSEG IFR data to Jan. 30 shows.