Financial Times FT.com

Public finance fears hit gilts auction

By David Oakley, Capital Markets Correspondent

Published: March 25 2009 12:32 | Last updated: March 25 2009 15:43

A UK government bond auction failed for the first time in seven years on Wednesday as investors refused to buy the securities because of worries over the country’s deteriorating public finances.

Alarm over rising UK debt levels and renewed fears over inflation saw investors shun the auction, with bids for the long-dated bonds, due to mature in 2049, falling short of the £1.75bn wanted.

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