Italy's borrowing costs in a pair of longer-dated bond auctions have spiked up to levels seen in December when concerns over the country's public finances were particularly acute, , according to AP. The Italian Treasury sold off ?5.4 billion ($6.8 billion) in the 5- and 10-year bond issues. The amount raised Thursday was just below its target of ?5.5 billion. The rate on the 5-year bonds rose from 5.66 percent last month to 5.84 percent. For the 10-year bonds, the rate rose from 6.03 percent to 6.19 percent. Italy is seeking help to ease its borrowing costs at the European summit this week. European leaders, including Italian Premier Mario Monti, are meeting later in Brussels to discuss a strategy to deal with their debt crisis.
