The Slovak central bank said on March 16 that its one year state bond had an average yield of 16.997% and that 3.59 billion crowns worth of bids, the same as the amount demanded, had been accepted.
The auction was the first ever in which the maximum accepted volume - five billion crowns - and the maximum yield - 17% - had been set in advance. Dealers had been sceptical as to whether the yield would be high enough to attract bids, but said on March 16 that the auction had gone smoothly.
The minimum yield was 16.95%. The Finance Ministry said on March 15 that it would continue to conduct state bond auctions in the new style if the market reaction was favourable.
