The State is seeking to raise €750 million through an auction of Irish Treasury bills on Thursday, the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has announced.

The bills will mature on February 21st. The auction will open at 9am, and will run for an hour. The settlement date for successful bids will be August 23rd.

The auction will be conducted on the Bloomberg Auction System, and is confined to recognised primary dealers and eligible counterparties. A non-competitive auction will immediately follow the competitive auction and will close at 4pm.

The NTMA expects to raise up to €20 billion in 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.