France to be 'strategic' on new debt issues, finance minister tells WSJ
TLT•French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said France would take a “strategic” approach to new debt issues. The finance ministry said issuance plans were unchanged and adapted to market demand, while France had recently issued less debt with maturities over 30 years.
1. Debt issuance approach
Lescure said France’s approach to issuing new debt would be “strategic.” He said a shorter maturity could make sense given the value he sees in the yield curve, but added that any shift would be marginal and that the government was “not traders.”
2. Ministry clarification
The finance ministry said there had been no change in issuance plans, which remain adapted to market demand. It said France had recently issued less debt with maturities over 30 years because primary dealers reported lower demand for those bonds, and that medium- and long-term maturities tended to be stable over time despite a slight decline in the last two years.
