The opening of the financial markets on May 22nd proved to be stable for the spread between Italian BTPs and German Bunds. The spread remained unchanged at yesterday’s levels, May 21, 75 basis points. The yields of both government bonds fell, with those of the Treasury reaching almost 3.80%.
The Government also announced, yesterday, a new issue of BTPs reserved for retail savers, therefore private individuals. These are the Bpt Italia Sì, which will be indexed to inflation, but will have a minimum coupon that will be announced in the next few days, shortly before the auction.
The spread between BTPs and Bunds remained stable
On the morning of May 22nd the spread between Italian BTPs and German Bunds opened stable at 75 basis points compared to the opening of the previous day. A result that confirms the progressive normalization of the behavior of the differential, which in recent months has been much less predictable than in the recent past, due to international tensions.
However, the variations seem to have taken on smaller dimensions after the second half of May. Even the negative news regarding the achievement of a peace agreement between Iran and the USA, such as that circulated yesterday evening on a toll imposed by Iran and Oman on the Strait of Hormuz, no longer has the disruptive effect that similar implications had had in the negotiations in April or even just at the beginning of the month.
Yields confirmed a parallel decline of four hundredths of a percentage point for both government bonds. For BTPs this meant getting very close to the 3.8% threshold, stopping at 3.82%. For Bunds, however, a drop of this magnitude brought interest below 3.10%, to 3.07%.
European spreads are also stable
The other European government bonds are also confirmed to be in the stabilization phase. The continental trend in recent days seems to be that of a decline in volatility and a settling of differentials towards levels about ten basis points higher than those reached at the end of 2025.
| Government bonds | Returns | Spreads |
|---|---|---|
| German Bunds | 3.07% | – |
| Italian BTPs | 3.82% | 75 |
| French Oats | 3.70% | 63 |
| Spanish bonos | 3.50% | 43 |
In this sense, the Spanish Bonos maintained 43 basis points of distance from the Bunds, bringing the yields to 3.50%, while the French Oat slightly reduced the differential, to 63 basis points, with yields just below 3.70%.
Government bond auctions and the new Italian BTPs Yes
The traditional end-of-month auctions of government bonds will be held starting next week. The trend in the spread should reassure the Treasury, which has had to deal with higher-than-expected yields in recent months. The dates set for the various financial products are:
- on May 26th, auction of Short Term BTPs;
- May 27th, Bot auction;
- on May 28th, auction of medium-long term BTPs.
In addition, the Treasury announced that the issue of Btp Italia Sì will be held from 15 to 19 June, a new product dedicated to retail investors. It is a government bond with:
- a duration of 5 years;
- semi-annual coupons linked to the national inflation rate;
- a minimum fixed rate, which will be communicated on June 12;
- an extra final premium of 0.6%.
