The NTMA has announced that it will raise €1 billion on the markets on Thursday through an auction of its existing 30-year bond.

The NTMA had announced at the start of the year that it would hold an auction this Thursday.

The timing is fortunate, as the ECB’s massive programme of quantitative easing commences today and should support bond prices.

The Central Bank of Ireland - the Irish arm of the ECB  - cannot buy bonds directly from national issuing agencies such as the NTMA. However the advent of QE has given a boost to bond markets and Irish bond yields are at record lows.

The NTMA announced this morning that it would use the long-term 2045 bond in this week’s auction.

The 2045 bond was first issued in early February when the NTMA raised €3 billion from its initial syndication.

The funds were raised at a rate of just over 2 per cent. The further auction of 30 year debt helps to lock in current low interest rates for the NTMA