(Updates with further ARDAL comment)
BRATISLAVA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Slovakia will offer its new 30-year bond, the longest-dated paper it has, for the first time in a domestic auction in February, looking to lock in low yields before they are gone.
Euro zone member Slovakia has enjoyed a comfortable borrowing position with a strong-growing economy helping state finances and leading to lower than expected budget deficits.
But with the European Central Bank widely expected to end an asset-purchase programme as early as September, yields have started turning upward in major markets. With that in mind, the country's debt agency ARDAL put the 30-year bond - which it first sold in a benchmark 1 billion euro syndicated deal last October - on its February calendar after getting strong demand last month for a 20-year bond.
"We want to catch the wave of lower yields as we expect them to rise in the second half of the year," Peter Soltys, head of ARDAL's debt management section, said.
The yield on the 30-year bond was quoted as high as 1.976 percent on Friday, hovering around its highest since November. In December it touched as low as 1.75 percent.
ARDAL plans to offer the bond along with another bond due in 2031 at an auction on Feb. 19, expecting to sell around 80 million euros of each paper, it said. A top-up round will follow on Feb. 20.
Slovakia's gross funding needs should reach 4.5 billion euros in 2018.
Ardal has said it will open one or two new benchmark bond lines via syndicated sale or auction this year, with a likely 10-12 year tenor coming in the spring and a shorter-dated paper in the fall.
Soltys said the spring offer was still planned for the second quarter.
(Reporting by Tatiana Jancarikova; Writing by Jason Hovet)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.