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Treasury auctions · 2-Year Note

2-year note auction of 25 January 2011 (new issue)

The 2-year note sold $35.698 billion at a high yield of 0.650% on , with a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.47.

High yield at each 2-year note auction

The last 36 auctions, this one last

High yield at each 2-year note auction, 27 Feb 2008 to 25 Jan 2011
High yield at each 2-year note auction, 27 Jan 2009 to 25 Jan 2011

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, 27 Feb 2008 to 25 Jan 2011
Bid-to-cover ratio at each 2-year note auction, 27 Jan 2009 to 25 Jan 2011

Who bought the 2-year note of 25 Jan 2011

Shares of the competitive bids accepted

  • Indirect bidders 27.0%
  • Direct bidders 14.9%
  • Primary dealers 58.1%
This auction, 25 Jan 2011
  • Indirect bidders 22.6%
  • Direct bidders 19.8%
  • Primary dealers 57.6%
The 2-year note auction before, 27 Dec 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 bidders27.0%
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
0.6503.47
0.7403.71
0.5203.70
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

Observed .

Right now

The high yield was 0.650% on 25 January 2011, down from 0.740% at the auction before.

Higher than 4 of the 33 since 23 April 2008

Its own history

Against the previous 24 2-year note auctions, the bid-to-cover ratio was higher than 20 of the 24.

The indirect bidders' share was higher than 1 of them.

See every measure against earlier auctions

Who bought

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

  • Indirect bidders 27.0%
  • Direct bidders 14.9%
  • Primary dealers 58.1%

Size

Treasury sold $35.698 billion of the $35 billion offered.

Bids received came to $122.059 billion; the bid-to-cover ratio was 3.47.

Its bid-to-cover of 3.47 compares with the 24 auctions before it: lowest 2.63 on , highest 3.78 on ; 73.0% of the way from the low to the high.

3.47

Low 2.63 Midpoint 3.205 High 3.78

The security2-Year, new issue

Coupon
0.625%
Announced
Issued
Matures

It adds to the debt that matures in January 2013.

Understanding this result

Where it stands today

The high yield was 0.650% at this 2-year note auction, the median yield 0.621% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.47.

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$122,058,722,000
Sold$35,697,586,000
Competitive bids accepted$34,693,864,000
Non-competitive bids accepted$306,286,200
Federal Reserve (SOMA) add-on$697,435,800
Foreign and international (FIMA) non-competitive$0
High yield, %0.650
Median rate, %0.621
Low rate, %0.530
Interest rate (coupon), %0.625
Bids at the high rate filled, %26.64
Bid-to-cover ratio3.47
Indirect bidders accepted$9,358,500,000
Direct bidders accepted$5,166,900,000
Primary dealers accepted$20,168,464,000
Indirect bidders' share, % (ours)27.0
Direct bidders' share, % (ours)14.9
Primary dealers' share, % (ours)58.1
High minus median, basis points (ours)2.9
Treasury par yield curve, 2-year point, same day, %0.62
High yield minus that point, basis points (ours)3.0
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 ratio3.473.333 of 129 of 12
High yield0.6500.7398 of 124 of 12
Indirect bidders' share27.037.211 of 121 of 12
Direct bidders' share14.914.15 of 127 of 12
Primary dealers' share58.148.11 of 1211 of 12
High minus median, basis points2.92.65 of 127 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 ratio3.47Last 24 auctions4 of 2420 of 243.12
Bid-to-cover ratio3.47Since 23 April 20084 of 3329 of 332.93
Bid-to-cover ratio3.47All 132 since 27 October 19995 of 132127 of 1322.38
High yield0.650Last 24 auctions20 of 244 of 240.932
High yield0.650Since 23 April 200829 of 334 of 330.961
High yield0.650All 366 since 23 January 1980362 of 3664 of 3665.855
Indirect bidders' share27.0Last 24 auctions23 of 241 of 2438.6
Indirect bidders' share27.0All 33 since 23 April 200831 of 332 of 3334.9
Direct bidders' share14.9Last 24 auctions7 of 2417 of 2411.3
Direct bidders' share14.9All 33 since 23 April 20087 of 3326 of 335.5
Primary dealers' share58.1Last 24 auctions5 of 2419 of 2447.5
Primary dealers' share58.1All 33 since 23 April 200813 of 3320 of 3351.4
High minus median, basis points2.9Last 24 auctions17 of 247 of 244.0
High minus median, basis points2.9Since 23 April 200824 of 339 of 334.0
High minus median, basis points2.9All 366 since 23 January 1980115 of 366246 of 3662.0

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 25 January 2011. Results file: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2011/R_20110125_2.pdf. Compiled by 500metrics, "2-year note auction of 25 January 2011 (new issue)", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/2-year-note/2011-01-25.

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