Rising Spanish bond yields trigger speculation about Spain bailout
Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against the euro zone leaders’ agreed ‘Pact For The Euro’ on June 19, 2011 in Barcelona, Spain. Thousands across Spain protested how the country’s economic crisis is being handled.
Talk of another bailout in Europe is growing as yields on Spanish bonds continue to rise ahead of the International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings this weekend.
Yields on 10-year Spanish bonds rose above 6 percent Monday, Reuters said. Spanish bond yields are coming dangerously close to where Portuguese, Greek and Irish yields were when those countries asked for international bailouts.
Portugal, Greece and Ireland asked for bailouts when they're borrowing costs began to hover above 7 percent, Associated Press noted.
More from GlobalPost: Greece bailout: what now?
One contributor to Spain's higher rates: the European Central Bank hasn’t been buying Spanish bonds for weeks, Financial Times said.
That’s further zapped demand for Spanish debt at a time when skittish investors already are worried about the fate of Europe’s fourth largest economy.
Spain has been trying to trying to get its finances under control, but it's a steep upward battle. Unemployment is above 20 percent and overspending by regional governments has finally caught up with them.
More from GlobalPost: Unemployment: how does Spain cope?
Spain is among a group of heavily indebted European countries that have found themselves trapped under the weight of heavy debt burdens as their economies have been shrinking.
More from GlobalPost: The Argentine economy's fuzzy math problem