Glossary term
What is a primary dealer?
On , at the auction of the 8-week bill (a reopening), primary dealers took 47.37% of the competitive bids accepted.
Last updated . This page normally updates every day; the latest update is late.
Primary dealers' share at the 8-week bill auction of 15 October 2026: 47.370%, above the median of the earlier auctions shown, 32.190%
Each point is one 8-week bill auction; pointing at the chart shows its date and figures.
The lineLatest:
- Primary dealers' share47.370%
Inspect and compare dates
| Auction date | Primary dealers' share |
|---|---|
| 47.37% | |
| 23.42% | |
| 36.13% | |
| 35.18% | |
| 32.77% | |
| 27.71% | |
| 25.22% | |
| 39.30% | |
| 30.65% | |
| 37.44% |
Show 14 more rows
| Auction date | Primary dealers' share |
|---|---|
| 39.29% | |
| 33.12% | |
| 55.65% | |
| 28.43% | |
| 20.98% | |
| 34.38% | |
| 27.85% | |
| 44.56% | |
| 28.14% | |
| 31.92% | |
| 32.19% | |
| 27.79% | |
| 40.17% | |
| 29.20% |
Right now
Primary dealers: 47.37% at the 8-week bill auction of , a reopening.
- Indirect bidders 46.93%
- Direct bidders 5.70%
Across auctions
47.370% is above the median of the 23 earlier 8-week bill auctions shown, 32.190%.
Of the 24 auctions shown, the highest was 55.650% on , the lowest 20.980% on .
Understanding the primary dealer
Where it stands today
Primary dealers: 47.37% at the 8-week bill auction of .
What does the term mean?
A primary dealer is one of the banks and broker-dealers that trade directly with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In return, each one is expected to bid in every Treasury auction, for a share of the amount on offer, at a reasonable price.
Read more
Why their share matters
Because dealers bid in every auction, they end up with whatever the other bidders do not take. Their share of the award is sometimes called the dealer takedown. 500metrics divides the dealers' accepted amount by the competitive bids accepted, so it adds up with the shares of indirect bidders and direct bidders to the whole competitive award.
Reading the share
A small dealer share means other buyers took most of the auction. A large one means dealers were left with more of it. Compare the share only with earlier auctions of the same term: bills, notes and bonds draw different mixes of buyers.
What it does not tell you
- Which dealers bid, or how much each took. The results give only the dealers' total.
- What dealers do with the securities next. The share is who was awarded them on the day of the auction.
Drafted with AI assistance from official sources; checked against the sources listed below.
The numbers behind the chart
What were the figures at the latest auction?8-week bill (reopening), 15 October 2026
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Primary dealers | 47.37% |
| Indirect bidders | 46.93% |
| Direct bidders | 5.70% |
Which pages show these figures?
Page updated