Ecuador to miss $30.6 million foreign debt payment

Bond markets are seeing Ecuador as increasingly risky now that the government plans to delay a $30.6 million interest payment on its foreign debt. The money is due Saturday.

Finance minister Maria Elsa Viteri says Ecuador will opt for a 30 day grace period on the debt while it reviews the results of a presidential commission that found signs of lawbreaking in the contracts.

The minister says Ecuador can easily pay the debt. But the bond markets are reacting sharply, increasing bond yields and lowering prices on more than half a billion dollars in Ecuadorean bonds.

Ecuador President Rafael Correa given bond markets reason for concern, warning that he could forego debt payments if oil prices keep dropping. Oil is Ecuador's top income source.