Greece raises over 1.6b euros in treasury bills sale awaiting bailout tranche

ATHENS - Greece raised on Wednesday 1.625 billion euros ($1.84 billion) in the latest six-month treasury bills auction, according to an announcement by the Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA).

The T-bills were auctioned at a 2.78 percent interest rate, down from the 2.97 percent interest rate of the previous similar sale carried out in June, the agency stressed.

The auction came as Athens awaits the disbursement of the next bailout tranche following the agreement achieved last month with international lenders for the conclusion of the second review of the third Greek bailout program, and the next steps forward.

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos expressed confidence on Wednesday that the European Stability Mechanism will approve the disbursement of the loan tranche to Greece on Friday, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

Shut out of international markets since 2010, Greece runs a monthly treasury bill auction program in parallel to bailout aid to cover maturing debts and meet its financing needs.

The third Greek bailout since 2010, which was signed in the summer of 2015, expires in mid 2018. The Greek government has expressed confidence that Greece can return to international bond markets by then.