Pressure on Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, to make a quick decision on how to get private bondholders to pay part of a new €115bn Greek bail-out, with senior Italian officials and the IMF warning that continued uncertainty risked undermining the eurozone.
The calls came as fears that a stalemate could last through the summer forced Rome to pay some of its highest rates on record in order to borrow €3bn ($4.3bn) from the bond market.
Although Thursday’s Italian auction was oversubscribed, rates on a €1.72bn sale of 15-year bonds hit 5.9 per cent – a full percentage point higher than a month ago and near levels where many analysts believe Italy’s debt burden would become unsustainable.