国际英语新闻：Greece to auction 4.5 billion euros treasury bills from next week

ATHENS, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Greece plans to auction 4.5 billion euros (5.6 billion U.S. dollars) treasury bills starting from next week, Greek media reported on Tuesday.

The Greek Organization of Debt Management is expected to make an official announcement later this week.

It will be a first test of markets' mood towards Greek national economy after the activation of the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) support mechanism two months ago, analysts point out.

According to reports in local media, Greece will auction 26- and 52-week treasury bills aiming to secure at least 2.1 billion euros (2.63 billion dollars) next week.

Furthermore, 13-week treasury bills worth at least 2.4 billion euros (3.01 billion dollars) will be auctioned later in July.

Debt-ridden Greece secured a 110 billion euros (137.9 billion dollars) package of financial aid from European partners and IMF over a three-year period to meet urgent financing needs and get a breathing space to overcome the crisis.

Due to fears of a possible default after the outbreak of a severe debt crisis in late 2009, Greece was getting loans with very high interest rates from international lenders this year.

With the activation of the support mechanism that releases funds to Athens at lower interest rates, the country has more space to manoeuvre and test the result of the campaign to restore its credibility to markets.