The FTSE Euro Corporate Bond Index showed investment-grade corporate bonds in euros yielding an average 56.8 basis points more than similarly dated government bonds at 1606 GMT, 0.5 basis points less on the day.
"All the sectors are grinding tighter on this first day of trading in the new year, on expectations that new bond supply will be less this year than in previous years," said a trader in London.
Bonds of Parmalat rose slightly as the investigation continued into the multi-billion euro corporate scandal at the Parma-based maker of dairy and juice drinks .
Enrico Bondi, appointed by the government as Parmalat's administrator, was expected to start a series of meetings with Italian banks to seek new emergency loans which news reports have said could be worth 50 million to 100 million euros.
Parmalat's 6.125 percent euro bond due 2010 was quoted bid at 21 percent of face value on Monday afternoon, or one percentage point better on the day, traders in London said.
The Parmalat crisis exploded just over two weeks ago when its new managers revealed an initial four-billion euro gap in its accounts, forcing the company to seek protection from creditors.
US authorities are also investigating the scandal, dubbed "Europe's Enron". They include the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and the US Attorney's office in Manhattan.
Questions have been raised about banks, which helped manage the sale of about eight billion euros worth of Parmalat bonds between 1997 and 2002.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) plans to launch a $3.0 billion global bond in the near future, lead managers for the deal said on Monday.
Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and UBS have been mandated to lead manage the transaction, which will be due in March 2009.
The EIB is rated triple-A by Moody's Investors Service, Standard and Poor's and Fitch Ratings.