The State’s debt management agency has sold €1.2 billion of the benchmark Government bonds in an auction on Thursday.

The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) sold €800 million of nine-year bonds at a yield of 0.54 per cent and €450 million of 28-year debt at a yield of 1.7 per cent in its final bond auction of the year.

With the completion of Thursday’s auction, the NTMA has issued €15.75 billion benchmark bonds in 2017.