Servicing national debt drops to 3.3%

The average cost of servicing Ireland’s national debt fell to 3.3 per cent at the end of last year, according to figures from the National Treasury Management Agency, a drop from 3.5 per cent in June 2015. With €3 billion in new 10-year funds raised on the market this week, at 1.156 per cent, the average cost of the entire €200 national debt should continue to fall towards 3 per cent this year.

The drop in the average debt servicing cost – which was just below 4 per cent at the end of 2014 – is yielding significant savings for the Exchequer. Irish Government bond prices remained strong yesterday in the wake of the new issue, in line with a strong performance in euro zone bond markets generally, as investors continued to put cash into safer havens.

The price of the existing benchmark nine-year Irish bond was trading just below 1 per cent yesterday. In initial dealings between investors after its launch, the new 2026 10-year bond quoted between 1.126 per cent and 1.144 per cent, slightly below its issue rate, indicating a small initial uplift for investors who subscribed to it.

Bond prices are being supported by a heavy programme of buying by the European Central Bank under its quantitative easing programme and by very low inflation.