**Greece has announced a sale of government bonds designed to raise money to help pull the country out of its debt crisis.**The sale will be the first bond auction since eurozone leaders agreed an aid package for Greece last week.
It will, therefore, be the first major test of whether the deal has succeeded in boosting confidence in Greek debt.
The last issue of Greek government bonds was oversubscribed, but the bond yield was high to attract investors.
The yield - the interest rate investors are paid on government bonds - on the latest bond issue may be lower following the eurozone aid package.
Now that its eurozone partners are standing behind Greece, investors may view Greek government debt as less risky, and therefore accept a lower rate of interest.
Debt concerns
Last Thursday, European leaders agreed to provide 22bn euros ($29.7bn; £20bn) should Greece run into difficulties borrowing money to service its high debt levels.
The agreement ended weeks of speculation about whether Europe would come to Greece’s rescue.
There had been fears that a deal might not be reached, with Germany arguing that Greece did not need help. Greece itself did not ask for direct financial help.
However, a compromise was agreed, with the International Monetary Fund contributing to the aid package.
The deal was agreed due to widespread concerns around the world that high levels of debt in Greece could have a knock-on effect on other highly indebted European countries.
The euro had fallen during the weeks prior to the agreement, but has rallied since.
The currency rose by 0.7% on Friday and was up almost 1 cent, or 0.6%, at $1.3474 on Monday.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.