NTMA set for €750 m bond sale on Thursday

The National Treasury Management Agency plans to sell € 750 million of 10-year debt on Thursday, marking its first bond sale since the general election with a smaller sale than analysts expected.

The debt agency, which currently has € 4 billion of notes due in 2026 outstanding, will auction the notes on Thursday between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

"The amount is marginally lower than market consensus, we had anticipated € 1 billion," according to Ryan McGrath, head of fixed-income strategy at Cantor Fitzgerald in Ireland.

Ongoing sovereign bond-buying by the European Central Bank and a "very positive domestic funding environment should ensure that the auction is well received, despite the domestic political uncertainty and the looming Brexit vote," he said.

Following the auction, the NTMA will have completed € 4.75 billion out of its targeted funding range for the full year of between € 6 billion and € 10 billion.

The 10-year bonds are currently yielding 0.79 per cent, compared to the 0.99 per cent yield at which it issued bonds in its last auction on February 11th.