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The State has raised a further €750 million through an auction of treasury bills, the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) said on Thursday.
Total bids received amounted to €1.79 billion, which was 2.4 times the amount on offer.
The treasury bills, which have a maturity of six months, were sold at a yield of -0.636%.
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.
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The agency got a boost on Wednesday when ratings agency Moody’s changed its outlook for the Republic to “positive” from “stable”, while also affirming its existing long-term debt rating of A2.
The change in outlook is the first to occur since September 2017, when the ratings agency upgraded Ireland to A2 from A3.
Favourable changes in ratings can help lower the cost of borrowing.
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