How did Portugal draw down their interest rates on pubic debt? I notice that Portugal had a very high interest rate on its national bond issues back in 2012 but since then it has drawn down significantly:



How were they able to decrease the interest rate?
1.- The government imposed an austerity program and, in exchange, received assistance from the IMF and the EU.

2.- The ECB made it clear that it would do whatever as necessary to save the Euro, even buying sovereign bonds of Euro countries.

3.- A general improvement in financial conditions around 2013 throughout the world let to a decline in default premia.