NTMA sells short-term debt at negative yield
Yields on Irish bonds have hit record lows recently
The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has sold €500m of short-term debt in its latest auction.
The debt management agency received bids worth €1.587m, more than three times the amount on offer, for the 12-month Treasury Bills. The bills were sold at a yield of -0.36 per cent, meaning investors are effectively paying to hold the debt.
The NTMA's most recent auctions of this type of debt have been for six-month bills, with the last tranche sold at a yield of -0.22 per cent in June.
Earlier this month, the agency sold€1 billion of 10-year government bonds at an average yield of 0.33 per cent, a record low, as investors appeared to brush off the controversy over Apple’s tax arrangements.
Yields on Irish debt havehit record lows in recent months. as bonds in peripheral European markets benefited from speculation that the European Central Bank could further ease monetary policy in the wake of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.
