Orders for a €1bn ($1.44bn) bond offering from EADS topped €9bn in just half an hour, underlining the extent of investor demand for corporate bonds in spite of the traditional summer lull.

The European aerospace and defence group sold €1bn of 7-year paper yielding 4.68 per cent. Prices rose further in initial trading, pushing the yield down to 4.45 per cent by the end of the European day.