Germany pays record low at short-term debt sale Germany paid a record low rate at an auction of two-year bonds Wednesday amid solid demand, suggesting investors are still snapping up the lower-risk debt issued by Europe's top economy. Germany received bids for 7.6 billion euros' ($9.7 billion) worth of two-year paper and placed only 3.44 billion euros, suggesting the auction was oversubscribed twice over. The average yield, or rate of return on the bond, was a record low 0.17 percent, showing investors are prepared to earn almost nothing for parking their money in the safe haven offered by Germany amid market uncertainty. A previous auction of two-year bonds produced an average rate of 0.29 percent. The strong auction was the latest in a series of positive debt sales in the crisis-wracked eurozone that has given investors cheer despite Friday's downgrade of several nations' credit rating by Standard and Poor's. Germany is one of only four eurozone countries -- the others being Finland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands -- that continue to enjoy a top triple-A rating from S&P after the downgrades. But Germany's safe-haven status was called into question in November, when an auction of 10-year debt attracted minimal demand, sending markets into tailspin. At that time, Germany received bids for only 3.9 billion euros' worth of Bunds, despite offering 6.0 billion euros. Since then, Germany has enjoyed strong demand for debt of all maturities. In January, the rate paid to investors for a six-month bond turned negative for the first time ever, meaning they were effectively paying Germany to stash their money in a safe place.