Continued Portuguese & Irish debt concerns push Silver & Gold higher as Safe Haven trades

From Bloomberg.com:

Portugal’s downgrade to junk status and wrangling over the role of investors in a new Greek bailout package fueled concern about the solvency of the region’s high- debt nations, sending their bonds tumbling.

The extra yield investors demand to hold Portugal’s 10-year bonds over German bunds surged 148 basis points to a euro-era record 949 after Moody’s slashed yesterday its credit rating four levels to Ba2, below investment grade. The yield on Italy’s 10-year bond reached the highest in almost three years, while Ireland’s 2-year yield topped 15 percent for the first time.

“It’s a reminder that the sovereign debt crisis does not end with Greece and that risks remain with other nations in addition to Greece,” said Gary Pollack, who helps oversee $12 billion as head of fixed-income trading at Deutsche Bank AG’s Private Wealth Management unit in New York.......read on

From Bloomberg.com:

Ireland’s credit rating may be cut to junk by Moody’s Investors Service after Portugal yesterday lost its investment grade rating, according to analysts.

Moody, which slashed Portugal to Ba2 from Baa1, in April lowered Ireland’s credit rating to the lowest investment grade Baa3 and left country’s outlook on negative.

The ratings company cut Portugal’s rating in part because the nation may not be able to return to debt markets in the second half of 2013. Ireland has been locked out of markets since September, and the yield on 10-year Irish bonds climbed to 12.44 percent today, a euro-area record for the country that agreed to a rescue package with the European Union and International Monetary Fund last November.

“If not re-entering the public funding markets has significance for a sovereign’s rating, then clearly if our view proves correct, then Ireland will suffer an imminent downgrade,” Cathal O’Leary, head of fixed income sales at Dublin-based NCB Stockbrokers, said in a note today.

The yield on Irish two-year notes climbed 239 basis points to 15.27 percent as of 2:35 p.m. in London, the first time it has been above 15 percent......read on