Slightly declining start for the spread between BTP and Bund and for the yield of the Italian ten-year bond in the session of Monday 24 August 2026. The yield of the BTP drops to 4.05%, from 4.08% on Friday, while the differential with the German Bund narrows by one basis point at the opening, reaching 81 points from the previous 82.
The drop comes after a particularly turbulent week for Eurozone government bonds, characterized by generalized sales which also involved Italian BTp, which reached a yield of 4.08% last Friday, among the highest levels of the year.
The week of German yields
It has been a difficult week for public debt in the entire Eurozone. In recent days, the yields on German Bunds, both on the ten-year and thirty-year maturities, have reached the highest levels since 2011, in a phase of generalized sales that involved government bonds from the Eurozone, the United States and Japan. Last Thursday the 10-year BTP closed at 4.07%, very close to the peak of the year recorded at the end of March, when the yield reached 4.1%.
The tensions are linked above all to fears about the evolution of the monetary policy of the main central banks and to growing concerns about the sustainability of Western public debts. In recent days, these factors have pushed down the prices of long-term government bonds around the world, causing their yields to rise.
The spreads of other European countries
The other large Eurozone countries also remain under pressure, albeit with slightly less intense dynamics than those in Italy. French OATs remain the most penalized securities among those of the large European issuers; the ten-year yield remains above 4.10%, at the highest since 2008, with a spread compared to the Bund which in recent days has exceeded 86 basis points, exceeding that of Italian BTPs.
| Government bonds | Returns | Spreads |
|---|---|---|
| German Bunds | 3.23% | – |
| Italian BTPs | 4.05% | 81 |
| French Oats | 4.11% | 87 |
| Spanish bonos | 3.71% | 45 |
Spanish government bonds remain the most solid among those of the large Eurozone countries, with a yield of around 3.71% and a spread compared to the Bund of around 45 basis points, well below the levels reached by France and Italy.
The next BTP and BOT auctions
The rise in yields in recent weeks comes at a delicate moment for the Italian Treasury’s issuing calendar. In August the Mef already had to review the auction plan for cash management needs, canceling both the auction of medium-long term securities on 13 August and that of Btp€i on 26 August.
However, the next auctions of the month remain confirmed:
- 26 August, Short Term BTP auction;
- August 27, Bot auction;
- August 28, auction of medium and long-term bonds.
Investors will especially look carefully at the appointment on 28 August, when the Treasury will return to placing medium-long term securities in a context of still high yields: an important test to measure market demand in a phase in which yields in the entire Eurozone remain at high levels.
