Italy had to pay the most in 14 years to sell five-year bonds as Parliament rushes to pass a 30 billion-euro ($39 billion) budget plan that Prime Minister Mario Monti says will bring down record borrowing costs.

The Rome-based Treasury sold 3 billion euros of the bonds, the maximum for the sale, to yield 6.47 percent, the most since May 1997 and up from 6.29 percent at the last auction on Nov. 14. Demand was 1.42 times the amount on offer, compared with 1.47 times last month.

Monti's Cabinet approved a sweeping budget plan on Dec. 4 aimed at raising revenue and boosting Italy's anemic growth to persuade investors Italy can tame the region's second-biggest debt and avoid a bailout. Parliamentary committees signed off on the amended plan last night, paving the way for a vote this week in the lower house. Monti has warned that failure to approve it could lead to Italy's “collapse” and threaten the survival of the single currency.