The National Treasury Management Agency has announced an auction of €500 million of treasury bills this Thursday.

The monthly auction of three-month treasury bills follows a similar deal last month, when the NTMA sold €500 million in treasury bills at an annualised rate of 0.129 per cent, the lowest level recorded since the 2010 bailout.

Last month’s auction was significantly over-subscribed, with total bids of €1.822 billion received – 3.6 times the amount that was on offer.

The NTMA has set a total funding target of €10 billion for 2013, as Ireland prepares its exit from the EU-International Monetary Fund bailout programme.