“The order book is open,” said an official at the Portuguese Treasury and Debt Management Agency, which this month expressed its interest in diversifying its sources of financing.

Investor demand for the bonds exceeded $2 billion, and the yield, or annual return to investors, is likely to be about 5.2 percent, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

The bond sale, handled via a syndicate of banks made up of Barclays, Danske Bank, HSBC and Societe Generale, was to be completed during the day.

Portugal last placed dollar-dominated bonds in March 2010 when it raised $1.25 billion in a sale of five-year debt.

Portugal emerged from a three-year bailout programme supervised by the European Union and International Monetary Fund on May 17.

The centre-right government aims to lower the annual public deficit to the equivalent of 4.0 percent of total economic output by the end of this year from 4.9 percent in 2013.

tsc/djw/hd