Hogares y empresas lideran la 'fiebre' por las Letras del Tesoro

Spanish households and businesses are driving demand for Spanish Treasury bonds as inflation heats up. According to data from the Bank of Spain, both groups significantly increased their holdings of short- and medium-term government securities up to levels not seen since spring 2025. The resurgence in Treasury yields, ranging from 2.45% to 2.83%, is the key driver.

As of the first seven months of the year, Spanish families held 22.081 million euros in Treasury bonds, 3.010 million euros more than at the start of the year. This 15.8% jump pushed the total balance to its highest level since April 2025. Initially, households reduced their exposure to bonds due to declining yields, dipping below 19.000 million euros in February.

However, the monetary situation triggered by the conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean has revived Treasury yields and household demand. Since interest rates started to rise, the household balance has continued to grow. July marked the fifth consecutive month of increases, with Treasury yields for various maturities, including 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, rising strongly.

Spanish families held 26% of the total circulating Treasury balance at the end of July, up almost two percentage points from the 24.12% recorded at the end of 2025. The July balance for the year shows an uneven picture across different Treasury holders. Only the balance of non-financial companies exceeded household holdings in percentage growth.

By the end of July, businesses had increased their Treasury holdings by 18.6%, surpassing the 4.000 million euro mark for the first time since May 2025. Companies are strongly betting on Treasury bonds to deploy their excess liquidity with increasingly attractive yields. With the 12-month Euribor already above 3.3% daily and market expectations of further money price increases at the European Central Bank's (ECB) October meeting, experts predict that long-term Treasury yields for 9- and 12-month maturities will approach the 3% level in upcoming auctions on October 6th and 13th.

The yields are coming from very demanding levels, already the highest in two years for the 12-month maturity. For 6-month Treasury securities, the level is the highest since November 2024. The public administration's Treasury balance also grew by 7.5% year-to-date. In contrast, the "rest of the world" segment saw a slight reduction of 0.5% to 33.213 million euros.