Weekly Bond Sale Raises $60 Million

Government bonds worth 15.6 trillion rials ($60 million) were sold to banks, investment funds and buyers at the stock market during the weekly auction held by the Central Bank of Iran. 
Buyers were five banks and credit institutions with 12.2 trillion rials ($48.8 million), the CBI website said. Outside the auction, institutional and retail traders bought the remaining 3.3 trillion rials ($13.2m) at the equity market.
Starting in May, the auction is a government initiative to help plug its deepening budget deficits. The auctions were relatively successful in the first several rounds but plunged sharply with the start of autumn.