Spain will test appetite for its longer-term debt on Thursday for the first time in a year and a half, and decent demand could give it some leeway to delay a request for a European bailout as its borrowing needs for the year would be met.

The Treasury aims to sell between 3.5 billion euros (US$ 4.5 billion) and 4.5 billion euros of debt, and can be expected to sell most of that in two bonds maturing in 2015 and a new five-year bond.