Greece on Wednesday raised 3.5 billion euros ($4.3 billion) in a 10-year bond issue at a "historically low" rate, the finance minister said. The country's first debt issue of the year was carried out at a rate of "around 0.8 percent" and drew "exceptionally high demand", Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said in a statement. "We are able to keep our country's cash reserves at a safe level," he added. Financial websites reported offers in excess of 20 billion euros. In June, Athens raised 3.0 billion euros at 1.57 percent in a similar sale. The finance ministry expects to spend 7.5 billion euros this year to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on the Greek economy, on top of 24 billion euros spent in 2020. The Greek budget forecasts economic growth of 4.8 percent, scaled back from a prior 7.5-percent estimate. A lockdown imposed in November is still in force. jph/wai