The National Treasury Management Agency has sold €750 million of treasury bills in an auction, reaching its target.

The short-term bills, which have a maturity of five months, were sold at a yield of -0.64 per cent. Total bids received were €1.83 billion, 2.4 times the amount on offer.

Last week, the agency sold €1.25 billion in long-term treasury bonds, bringing the total raised at that point to €16 billion.

The NTMA expects to raise up to €20 billion in the bond markets this year to cover a budget gap caused by the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and potential fallout from Brexit.