The State has raised €1 billion through an auction of Irish treasury bills, the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) said.

The agency sold €400 million of 10-year bonds, and a further €600 million of bonds due to mature in 2037. Yields were between 0.778 per cent and 0.984 per cent.

That brings the total of benchmark bonds issued so far this year to €4.5 billion, almost half of the State’s minimum full-year funding target for 2022. The NTMA is aiming to raise between €10 billion and €14 billion in the international bond markets this year, a significant reduction on the amount raised last year as the Government’s Covid-related spending eases.

The Government deficit ballooned to €18.4 billion in 2020 before narrowing in 2021 to about €9 billion.