NTMA sells €1.5bn of govt debt in bond auction

The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has succeeded in selling €1.5bn of government debt in a bond auction.

The NTMA sold €1bn of eight-year bonds with a yield of 6.02%, and €500m in four-year bonds, at a yield of 4.7% to the markets.

The yields charged are significantly higher than recent weeks, but fell from the high levels seen yesterday evening.

Senior dealer at National Irish Bank Eoin Callan said that the sale was a positive result overall.

"There is still very strong demand out there for Irish government debt…It's good to get this one out of the way," he said.

The next auction will take place next month.