NTMA to auction €1.5bn of treasury bonds on Thursday

Government expects to record €18.1bn general deficit this year, equating to 4.7% of GDP

The State’s debt management agency is to hold a bond auction on Thursday in which it will seek to raise up to €1.5 billion.

The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) said there will be three bonds offered in the auction.

There will be a zero per cent treasury bond to mature in 2031; a 1.3 per cent treasury bond to mature in 2033; and a 1.5 per cent treasury bond to mature in 2050.

The auction size range is €1 billion-€1.5 billion. It will open at 8am on Thursday and close at 10am.

READ MORE

The auction will be conducted on the Bloomberg auction system and will be confined to recognised primary dealers.

A non-competitive auction for 15 per cent of the amount sold in the competitive auction will immediately follow and will close at 10am on May 17th.

The Government has said in an updated set of economic forecasts that it expects to record an €18.1 billion general deficit this year, equating to 4.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), as it continues with Covid-19 related spending programmes, including the pandemic unemployment payment and wage subsidy schemes.

Last year, a general government deficit of €18.4 billion, or 5 per cent of GDP, was reported.

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson is an Irish Times reporter