Al Jazeera.
Spain saw its bond yields shoot up again after the country's economy minister said that the future of the euro would be
determined in the next few weeks and would depend on the stability of Spain and Italy.
The
interest rate on 10-year Spanish bonds stood rose 0.13 percentage
points to 6.58 per cent in early trading on Friday. The rate was more
than 5.4 percentage points higher than the equivalent German one, which
is considered a safe haven for investors.
Luis de Guindos, the
Spanish economy minister, said in a speech on Thursday evening that
Spain and Europe were at crossroads as speculation mounts over whether
the country will need a bailout. The danger is that Spain's $1.24
trillion economy is far bigger than those of already bailed-out Greece,
Ireland and Portugal combined.
Spain's banking sector is laden
with soured investments on real estate and the government needs $24bn to
rescue just one lender, Bankia SA, at a time of recession and crushing
unemployment of 24.4 per cent.
"I don't know if we are on the edge of a cliff, but we are in a very, very difficult position,'' de Guindos said in a speech to business leaders in Sitges, a resort town near Barcelona.
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