Ireland’s cost of funding falls below 1% for first time

Ireland’s 10-year government bond fell below 1 per cent on Wednesday morning, the first time the country’s cost of funding has fallen below the 1 per cent level in recorded history.

The yield on the 10-year bond, which was already at extremely low levels, slipped down two basis points, breaching 1 per cent to fall to 0.997 per cent.

Conall MacCoille, economist with Davy Stockbrokers , said that the move was a result of the testimony from US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen on Tuesday, at which she suggested that an interest rate rise in the US would likely come later rather than sooner.

“Yields across Europe flow on from that and the move overnight was enough to push us there,” he said.

Peripheral bonds across Europe also fell, with Spain dropping a basis point to fall to 1.38 per cent; Portugal down 3.5 bp to 2.077 per cent and Italy down to 1.5 per cent.

Greek 10-year bond yields fell for a fifth day, reaching the lowest level since January at t 8.63 per cent.