Ecuador’s debt audit commission said on Thursday that the country’s 2012 and 2030 bonds showed “serious signs of illegality”, which has added impetus to the threats of default from Rafael Correa, the Andean nation’s leftwing president.

The price of Ecuadorian bonds and credit default swaps have fluctuated strongly since last week, when Mr Correa said he was delaying a $30.5m payment on the 2012 bond to seek a legal basis for a default. Ecuador has defaulted nine times in the past 200 years.