Spain paid the most in at least eight years to sell three-year debt ahead of the publication of its banks' capital needs that will determine how much the euro area's fourth-largest economy needs from European rescue funds.

The Treasury today sold 2.22 billion euros ($2.81 billion) of bonds, the Madrid-based Bank of Spain said today. That's above a 2 billion-euro maximum target for the sale. Three-year bonds maturing in July 2015 fetched an average rate of 5.547 percent, compared with 4.876 percent on May 17, and the most since at least 2004.

Spain, which became the fourth euro member to seek a bailout on June 9, will specify today how much it needs of the 100 billion-euro credit line it has been granted to shore up banks burdened with bad loans while tackling a budget deficit as large as that of Greece amid a recession. Spanish bonds rose after European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure told the Financial Times that an interest-rate cut will probably be discussed at policy makers' July 5 meeting.