The German government successfully raised approximately EUR 4 billion in an oversubscribed 10-year bond auction at the start of the year. The Bundesbank said it sold EUR 4.057 billion in an issue which received bids for EUR 5.14 billion. The bids exceeded the maximum sales target of EUR 5 billion. The demand for the issue outstripped supply by 1.3 times. The last 10-year bond issue held on November 23 failed to see adequate demand from investors. Moreover, the average yield fell to 1.93 percent from 1.98 percent logged during the prior auction in November.