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Treasury auctions · 10-Year Note

10-year note auction of 8 August 2012 (new issue)

The 10-year note sold $24 billion at a high yield of 1.680% on , with a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.49.

High yield at each 10-year note auction

The last 36 auctions, this one last

High yield at each 10-year note auction, 9 Sep 2009 to 8 Aug 2012
High yield at each 10-year note auction, 11 Aug 2010 to 8 Aug 2012

Bid-to-cover ratio at each 10-year note auction

The last 36 auctions, this one last

Bid-to-cover ratio at each 10-year note auction, 9 Sep 2009 to 8 Aug 2012
Bid-to-cover ratio at each 10-year note auction, 11 Aug 2010 to 8 Aug 2012

Who bought the 10-year note of 8 Aug 2012

Shares of the competitive bids accepted

  • Indirect bidders 40.6%
  • Direct bidders 5.2%
  • Primary dealers 54.2%
This auction, 8 Aug 2012
  • Indirect bidders 40.6%
  • Direct bidders 45.4%
  • Primary dealers 14.0%
The 10-year note auction before, 11 Jul 2012

Each point is one 10-year note auction, this one last; pointing at the chart shows its date and figures.

Select a line to followLatest:

  • Indirect bidders40.6%
Inspect and compare dates
High yield and bid-to-cover of the last 36 10-year note auctions, newest first
AuctionHigh yield, %Bid-to-cover
1.6802.49
1.4593.61
1.6223.06
1.8552.90
2.0433.08
2.0763.24
2.0203.05
1.9003.29
2.0203.53
2.0302.64
2.2712.86
2.0003.03
2.1403.22
2.9183.17
2.9673.23
3.2103.00
3.4943.13
3.4993.32
3.6653.23
3.3883.30
3.3402.92
2.6362.80
2.4752.99
2.6703.21
2.7303.04
3.1193.09
3.2423.24
3.5482.96
3.9003.72
3.7353.45
3.6922.67
3.7543.00
3.4482.62
3.4702.81
3.2103.01
3.5102.77

Observed .

Right now

The high yield was 1.680% on 8 August 2012, up from 1.459% at the auction before.

The bid-to-cover ratio of 2.49 was the lowest for a 10-year note since 12 August 2009, with 35 auctions in between.

The direct bidders' share of 5.2% was the lowest for a 10-year note since 9 February 2011, with 17 auctions in between.

Higher than 2 of the 53 since 7 May 2008

Its own history

Against the previous 24 10-year note auctions, the bid-to-cover ratio was lower than all 24.

The primary dealers' share was higher than 23 of them.

See every measure against earlier auctions

Who bought

Primary dealers took the largest share of the competitive bids accepted.

  • Indirect bidders 40.6%
  • Direct bidders 5.2%
  • Primary dealers 54.2%

Size

Treasury sold $24 billion of the $24 billion offered.

Bids received came to $59.791 billion; the bid-to-cover ratio was 2.49.

Its bid-to-cover of 2.49 compares with the 24 auctions before it: lowest 2.49 on , highest 3.61 on ; 0.0% of the way from the low to the high.

2.49

Low 2.49 Midpoint 3.050 High 3.61

The security10-Year, new issue

Coupon
1.625%
Announced
Issued
Matures

It adds to the debt that matures in August 2022.

Understanding this result

Where it stands today

The high yield was 1.680% at this 10-year note auction, the median yield 1.630% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.49.

What do these figures measure?

The high yield is the highest rate Treasury accepted; every winning bidder gets it. The bid-to-cover ratio is bids received divided by the amount sold. Shares are of competitive bids accepted. High minus median shows how far the accepted cut-off sat above the middle accepted bid; it is not the market's auction tail, which needs a when-issued price that is not public.

Read more

How does it compare with the par yield curve?

The par yield curve comparison sets the high yield against Treasury's own par yield curve on the auction day, at the point nearest this security's maturity (10-year). Treasury fixes that curve from market quotes in the late afternoon, after the auction closed, so the gap mixes the auction's pricing with the afternoon's market move. It is not the auction tail either.

What these figures cannot tell

  • Why it sold where it did. Results show what was bid and accepted, not the reasons behind any bid.
  • The auction tail as markets quote it. That compares the high yield with the when-issued yield just before bids closed, a market price that is not public; we show high minus median instead, a different measure.
  • Who the bidders are. Indirect bidders include foreign and international accounts bidding through the New York Fed and investors bidding through dealers; Treasury does not publish names.
  • Demand on another day. A bid-to-cover ratio counts bids at one auction against the amount offered, and the amount offered changes from auction to auction.

The numbers behind the chart

What did Treasury publish for this auction?Every field, to the dollar
FieldValue
Offered as10-Year, new issue
Offering amount$24,000,000,000
Bids received$59,791,036,100
Sold$24,000,045,500
Competitive bids accepted$23,919,409,400
Non-competitive bids accepted$30,636,100
Federal Reserve (SOMA) add-on$0
Foreign and international (FIMA) non-competitive$50,000,000
High yield, %1.680
Median rate, %1.630
Low rate, %1.550
Interest rate (coupon), %1.625
Bids at the high rate filled, %72.94
Bid-to-cover ratio2.49
Indirect bidders accepted$9,713,229,200
Direct bidders accepted$1,247,305,200
Primary dealers accepted$12,958,875,000
Indirect bidders' share, % (ours)40.6
Direct bidders' share, % (ours)5.2
Primary dealers' share, % (ours)54.2
High minus median, basis points (ours)5.0
Treasury par yield curve, 10-year point, same day, %1.68
High yield minus that point, basis points (ours)0.0
How does it compare with earlier auctions?The previous 12 auctions, then every window
Against the previous 12 auctions of the 10-year note
MeasureThis auctionMedianHigherLower
Bid-to-cover ratio2.493.0712 of 120 of 12
High yield1.6802.02010 of 122 of 12
Indirect bidders' share40.638.84 of 128 of 12
Direct bidders' share5.216.612 of 120 of 12
Primary dealers' share54.242.61 of 1211 of 12
High minus median, basis points5.04.45 of 127 of 12

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

The longer windows

Each measure against earlier 10-year note auctions: how many were higher and lower, and their median
MeasureThis auctionWindowHigherLowerMedian
Bid-to-cover ratio2.49Last 24 auctions24 of 240 of 243.10
Bid-to-cover ratio2.49Since 7 May 200840 of 5311 of 532.96
Bid-to-cover ratio2.49All 107 since 10 November 199958 of 10747 of 1072.56
High yield1.680Last 24 auctions22 of 242 of 242.373
High yield1.680Since 7 May 200851 of 532 of 533.210
High yield1.680All 189 since 31 October 1979187 of 1892 of 1894.880
Indirect bidders' share40.6Last 24 auctions16 of 248 of 2442.2
Indirect bidders' share40.6All 53 since 7 May 200824 of 5329 of 5338.9
Direct bidders' share5.2Last 24 auctions23 of 241 of 2410.6
Direct bidders' share5.2All 53 since 7 May 200833 of 5320 of 538.3
Primary dealers' share54.2Last 24 auctions1 of 2423 of 2442.6
Primary dealers' share54.2All 53 since 7 May 200818 of 5335 of 5347.8
High minus median, basis points5.0Last 24 auctions10 of 2414 of 244.5
High minus median, basis points5.0Since 7 May 200828 of 5324 of 535.1
High minus median, basis points5.0All 189 since 31 October 197936 of 189150 of 1892.6

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

When are the figures from, and how are they cited?Dates and how to cite

Observed .

Shares of competitive bids, grades against earlier auctions and the high-minus-median spread are computed by 500metrics from Treasury's published fields.

Observed .

How to cite this

U.S. Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Fiscal Data, Treasury Securities Auctions Data, auction of 8 August 2012. Results file: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2012/R_20120808_1.pdf. Compiled by 500metrics, "10-year note auction of 8 August 2012 (new issue)", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/10-year-note/2012-08-08.

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