Spain inches closer to seeking sovereign bailout

Spain inched closer to seeking a sovereign bailout on Friday as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy opened the door to a request, although he said he needed first to know the attached conditions as well as the form the rescue would take.

At a news conference on Friday, the first he has attended after the weekly cabinet meeting since he took power in December, Rajoy said no decision could be taken until further details are agreed.

But he said he was ready to do what is best for the country.

He went further than he did on Thursday when, during a press appearance with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, Rajoy three times declined to say whether he would seek aid and trigger a concerted action of the European Central Bank and the European Union rescue funds to bring down Spain's borrowing costs.

"I will do, as I always do, what I believe to be in the best interest of the Spanish people," Rajoy said on Friday.

"We still don't know what these measures are," he said, reference to a comment by European Central Bank president Mario Draghi that the bank was examining non-conventional measures to defend the euro.

"What I want to know is what these measures are, what they mean and whether they are appropriate and, in light of the circumstances, we will make a decision, but I have still not taken any decision," he said.