Second-quarter volumes in the supranational, sovereign and agency market across Europe, the Middle East and Africa this year jumped more than 30% from the same period a year ago as issuers were able to exploit the firmer foundations laid in the sector in the first quarter.

This time last year, issuance had dropped by more than half to $184bn quarter on quarter thanks to bearish pre-funding by issuers and the short-lived long-term refinancing operation bounce. But Italy established a positive tone for the market in January with a 15-year bond and then priced 30 and 50-year bonds in May. Spain was active at the long end with a 10-year deal that attracted more than €20bn of orders and Portugal was able to price its first 10-year bond since its 2011 bailout. John Lee-Tin, head of European SSA syndicate at JP Morgan, said these long-end deals were the quarter's "landmarks" in the sovereign sector.