UK Raises Planned Gilt Sales for Year by More Than Expected

(Bloomberg) -- The UK government raised the amount of bonds it plans to sell this fiscal year by more than analysts expected, adding to what was already the second-largest gilt package on record.

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The nation will sell £12.4 billion ($15.3 billion) more gilts compared to the Debt Management Office’s original plan for the 2024-25 fiscal year, it said in a statement Tuesday. That will take issuance to £277.7 billion, with the additional sales skewed toward shorter maturities.

Analyst estimates ranged from as low as Banco Santander’s £1 billion to Citigroup Inc’s £10 billion. The increase reflects data released earlier Tuesday that showed UK government borrowing overshot official forecasts in the last fiscal year.

Short-maturity debt will bear the brunt of the additional issuance, with planned sales increasing by £5.4 billion to account for 36.3% of total issuance. Expected sales of medium-dated gilts rose by £3.9 billion.

For Megum Muhic, a rates strategist at RBC Capital Markets, the remit revision and the skew toward shorter gilts should boost the appeal of Wednesday’s 30-year gilt sale via banks.

UK bonds were lower across the curve Tuesday, underperforming European peers. The 10-year yield rose two basis points to 4.22%.

The funding package carries extra importance for the market given sales from the central bank are also in full swing. If the Bank of England maintains its yearly target of reducing its gilt stockpile by £100 billion, the total stock of debt the market will have to digest this year could reach an all-time high.

--With assistance from Aline Oyamada.

(Updates with quote and details of remit starting in paragraph four.)

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