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Treasury auctions · 2-Year Note

2-year note auction of 26 October 2010 (new issue)

The 2-year note sold $35.718 billion at a high yield of 0.400% on , with a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.43.

High yield at each 2-year note auction

The last 36 auctions, this one last

High yield at each 2-year note auction, 28 Nov 2007 to 26 Oct 2010
High yield at each 2-year note auction, 28 Oct 2008 to 26 Oct 2010

Bid-to-cover ratio at each 2-year note auction

The last 36 auctions, this one last

Bid-to-cover ratio at each 2-year note auction, 28 Nov 2007 to 26 Oct 2010
Bid-to-cover ratio at each 2-year note auction, 28 Oct 2008 to 26 Oct 2010

Who bought the 2-year note of 26 Oct 2010

Shares of the competitive bids accepted

  • Indirect bidders 40.0%
  • Direct bidders 15.9%
  • Primary dealers 44.1%
This auction, 26 Oct 2010
  • Indirect bidders 39.0%
  • Direct bidders 10.8%
  • Primary dealers 50.2%
The 2-year note auction before, 27 Sep 2010

Each point is one 2-year note auction, this one last; pointing at the chart shows its date and figures.

Select a line to followLatest:

  • Indirect bidders40.0%
Inspect and compare dates
High yield and bid-to-cover of the last 36 2-year note auctions, newest first
AuctionHigh yield, %Bid-to-cover
0.4003.43
0.4413.78
0.4983.12
0.6653.33
0.7383.45
0.7692.93
1.0243.03
1.0003.00
0.8953.33
0.8803.13
1.0892.91
0.8023.16
1.0203.63
1.0343.23
1.1192.68
1.0802.75
1.1513.19
0.9402.94
0.9492.72
0.9492.71
0.9612.63
0.9252.69
0.9222.13
1.2692.08
1.6002.49
2.1152.21
2.3802.18
2.8202.42
2.9222.64
2.6402.28
2.2252.21
1.7612.44
2.0452.14
2.2372.33
3.2852.23
3.1592.21

Observed .

Right now

The high yield of 0.400% on 26 October 2010 was the lowest of all 363 earlier 2-year note auctions we hold.

Lower than all 30 since 23 April 2008

Its own history

Against the previous 24 2-year note auctions, the high yield was lower than all 24.

The bid-to-cover ratio was higher than 21 of them.

See every measure against earlier auctions

Who bought

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

  • Indirect bidders 40.0%
  • Direct bidders 15.9%
  • Primary dealers 44.1%

Size

Treasury sold $35.718 billion of the $35 billion offered.

Bids received came to $120.937 billion; the bid-to-cover ratio was 3.43.

Its bid-to-cover of 3.43 compares with the 24 auctions before it: lowest 2.08 on , highest 3.78 on ; 79.4% of the way from the low to the high.

3.43

Low 2.08 Midpoint 2.930 High 3.78

The security2-Year, new issue

Coupon
0.375%
Announced
Issued
Matures

It adds to the debt that matures in October 2012.

Understanding this result

Where it stands today

The high yield was 0.400% at this 2-year note auction, the median yield 0.375% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.43.

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 (2-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 as2-Year, new issue
Offering amount$35,000,000,000
Bids received$120,937,498,000
Sold$35,717,523,000
Competitive bids accepted$34,669,525,000
Non-competitive bids accepted$330,523,400
Federal Reserve (SOMA) add-on$717,474,600
Foreign and international (FIMA) non-competitive$0
High yield, %0.400
Median rate, %0.375
Low rate, %0.310
Interest rate (coupon), %0.375
Bids at the high rate filled, %38.30
Bid-to-cover ratio3.43
Indirect bidders accepted$13,862,550,000
Direct bidders accepted$5,513,300,000
Primary dealers accepted$15,293,675,000
Indirect bidders' share, % (ours)40.0
Direct bidders' share, % (ours)15.9
Primary dealers' share, % (ours)44.1
High minus median, basis points (ours)2.5
Treasury par yield curve, 2-year point, same day, %0.40
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 2-year note
MeasureThis auctionMedianHigherLower
Bid-to-cover ratio3.433.143 of 129 of 12
High yield0.4000.84112 of 120 of 12
Indirect bidders' share40.037.65 of 127 of 12
Direct bidders' share15.913.64 of 128 of 12
Primary dealers' share44.148.19 of 123 of 12
High minus median, basis points2.53.69 of 123 of 12

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

The longer windows

Each measure against earlier 2-year note auctions: how many were higher and lower, and their median
MeasureThis auctionWindowHigherLowerMedian
Bid-to-cover ratio3.43Last 24 auctions3 of 2421 of 242.97
Bid-to-cover ratio3.43Since 23 April 20083 of 3027 of 302.83
Bid-to-cover ratio3.43All 129 since 27 October 19994 of 129125 of 1292.36
High yield0.400Last 24 auctions24 of 240 of 240.949
High yield0.400Since 23 April 200830 of 300 of 301.010
High yield0.400All 363 since 23 January 1980363 of 3630 of 3635.874
Indirect bidders' share40.0Last 24 auctions11 of 2413 of 2437.6
Indirect bidders' share40.0All 30 since 23 April 200811 of 3019 of 3034.8
Direct bidders' share15.9Last 24 auctions4 of 2420 of 246.9
Direct bidders' share15.9All 30 since 23 April 20084 of 3026 of 304.4
Primary dealers' share44.1Last 24 auctions18 of 246 of 2449.4
Primary dealers' share44.1All 30 since 23 April 200824 of 306 of 3052.6
High minus median, basis points2.5Last 24 auctions20 of 243 of 244.0
High minus median, basis points2.5Since 23 April 200825 of 304 of 304.2
High minus median, basis points2.5All 363 since 23 January 1980128 of 363225 of 3632.0

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 26 October 2010. Results file: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2010/R_20101026_2.pdf. Compiled by 500metrics, "2-year note auction of 26 October 2010 (new issue)", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/2-year-note/2010-10-26.

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