The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) said on Wednesday it plans to hold a standard bond auction on March 11th after reaching a third of its minimum 2021 funding target in the first trading days of the year through a €5.5 billion debt sale managed by a group of banks and brokerage firms.

The NTMA plans to raise between €16 billion and €20 billion in the bond markets in 2021 to cover a budget gap caused by the Government’s response to Covid-19 and potential fallout from Brexit, even the UK reached a Christmas Eve trade deal with the EU.

The €5.5 billion bond sale was managed by a syndicate of investment banks and securities firms on Tuesday, with the 10-year bonds priced to carry a negative market interest rate, or yield, of minus 0.257 per cent.

The agency, which manages government funding, will also hold auctions for short-term debt, known as treasury bills, on January 21st, February 18th and March 18th, it said in a statement.