Greek CDS falls in low volume business

The cost of protecting government debt against default in Greece and other peripheral euro zone sovereigns fell early on Friday in low volumes, according to Credit Default Swap monitor Markit.

Five-year CDS on Greek government debt fell to 655 basis points, 27 bps tighter than on Thursday, Markit said.

It means the cost falls to 655,000 euros to protect 10 million euros-worth of Greek government bonds.

The CDS of other peripheral sovereign issuers, such as Portugal and Ireland also fell. Italy's CDS tightened by four bps to 210 bps.

The Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe index of CDS prices was 5.5 bps tighter at 135.6 bps.

"Yesterday was a quiet day for sovereigns, with spreads grinding tighter on low volumes," Markit said.