Russia's launch of its first bonds on international markets since the 1998 crisis was a success, and it will not issue any more this year, the finance minister said on Thursday.
The Finance Ministry sold $5.5 billion in five- and 10-year bonds at rates just over a percentage point above U.S. Treasuries - 1.25% and 1.35%, respectively.
Alexei Kudrin said the government debt issue would improve the market for Russian corporate bonds, and added that high oil prices meant Russia was unlikely to return to the international debt markets this year.
"The Finance Ministry's decision to issue a second tranche of Eurobonds directly depends on oil prices. If they continue at current levels, there will be no fundamental sense in new foreign borrowing," Kudrin told reporters in New York.
NEW YORK, April 22 (RIA Novosti)
