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Treasury auctions · 2-Year Note

2-year note auction of 24 September 2019 (new issue)

The 2-year note sold $44.155 billion at a high yield of 1.612% on , with a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.64.

High yield at each 2-year note auction

The last 36 auctions, this one last

High yield at each 2-year note auction, 20 Jun 2016 to 24 Sep 2019
High yield at each 2-year note auction, 26 Sep 2017 to 24 Sep 2019

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, 20 Jun 2016 to 24 Sep 2019
Bid-to-cover ratio at each 2-year note auction, 26 Sep 2017 to 24 Sep 2019

Who bought the 2-year note of 24 Sep 2019

Shares of the competitive bids accepted

  • Indirect bidders 57.0%
  • Direct bidders 15.9%
  • Primary dealers 27.1%
This auction, 24 Sep 2019
  • Indirect bidders 47.1%
  • Direct bidders 20.4%
  • Primary dealers 32.5%
The 2-year note auction before, 27 Aug 2019

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 bidders57.0%
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
1.6122.64
1.5162.60
1.8252.50
1.6952.58
2.1252.75
2.5032.50
2.6002.56
2.6192.31
2.8362.65
2.8802.67
2.8292.44
2.6552.89
2.6572.92
2.5382.73
2.5902.88
2.4982.61
2.3102.91
2.2552.72
2.0663.22
1.9222.52
1.7652.73
1.4622.88
1.3452.86
1.3953.06
1.3483.03
1.3162.90
1.2612.73
1.2302.82
1.2102.68
1.2802.44
1.0852.73
0.8552.53
0.7502.65
0.7602.83
0.7602.52
0.7452.72

Observed .

Right now

The high yield was 1.612% on 24 September 2019, up from 1.516% at the auction before.

The indirect bidders' share of 57.0% was the highest for a 2-year note since 23 January 2018, with 17 auctions in between.

Higher than 103 of the 128 since 23 April 2008

Its own history

Against the previous 24 2-year note auctions, the indirect bidders' share was higher than 22 of the 24.

The primary dealers' share was higher than 4 of them.

See every measure against earlier auctions

Who bought

Indirect bidders took the largest share of the competitive bids accepted.

  • Indirect bidders 57.0%
  • Direct bidders 15.9%
  • Primary dealers 27.1%

Size

Treasury sold $44.155 billion of the $40 billion offered.

Bids received came to $109.611 billion; the bid-to-cover ratio was 2.64.

Its bid-to-cover of 2.64 compares with the 24 auctions before it: lowest 2.31 on , highest 3.22 on ; 36.3% of the way from the low to the high.

2.64

Low 2.31 Midpoint 2.765 High 3.22

The security2-Year, new issue

Coupon
1.500%
Announced
Issued
Matures

It adds to the debt that matures in September 2021.

Understanding this result

Where it stands today

The high yield was 1.612% at this 2-year note auction, the median yield 1.585% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.64.

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$40,000,000,000
Bids received$109,610,724,100
Sold$44,155,280,500
Competitive bids accepted$39,853,186,400
Non-competitive bids accepted$146,819,800
Federal Reserve (SOMA) add-on$4,155,274,300
Foreign and international (FIMA) non-competitive$0
High yield, %1.612
Median rate, %1.585
Low rate, %0.880
Interest rate (coupon), %1.500
Bids at the high rate filled, %20.87
Bid-to-cover ratio2.64
Indirect bidders accepted$22,720,830,000
Direct bidders accepted$6,347,918,900
Primary dealers accepted$10,784,437,500
Indirect bidders' share, % (ours)57.0
Direct bidders' share, % (ours)15.9
Primary dealers' share, % (ours)27.1
High minus median, basis points (ours)2.7
Treasury par yield curve, 2-year point, same day, %1.60
High yield minus that point, basis points (ours)1.2
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 ratio2.642.595 of 127 of 12
High yield1.6122.61011 of 121 of 12
Indirect bidders' share57.045.00 of 1212 of 12
Direct bidders' share15.919.37 of 125 of 12
Primary dealers' share27.137.211 of 121 of 12
High minus median, basis points2.72.65 of 126 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 ratio2.64Last 24 auctions15 of 249 of 242.72
Bid-to-cover ratio2.64Since 23 April 2008104 of 12822 of 1283.08
Bid-to-cover ratio2.64All 227 since 27 October 1999124 of 227101 of 2272.69
High yield1.612Last 24 auctions19 of 245 of 242.282
High yield1.612Since 23 April 200825 of 128103 of 1280.764
High yield1.612All 461 since 23 January 1980353 of 461108 of 4614.830
Indirect bidders' share57.0Last 24 auctions2 of 2422 of 2444.9
Indirect bidders' share57.0All 128 since 23 April 20085 of 128123 of 12836.7
Direct bidders' share15.9Last 24 auctions11 of 2413 of 2415.6
Direct bidders' share15.9All 128 since 23 April 200851 of 12877 of 12814.5
Primary dealers' share27.1Last 24 auctions20 of 244 of 2440.5
Primary dealers' share27.1All 128 since 23 April 2008123 of 1285 of 12847.3
High minus median, basis points2.7Last 24 auctions14 of 249 of 243.0
High minus median, basis points2.7Since 23 April 200862 of 12865 of 1282.6
High minus median, basis points2.7All 461 since 23 January 1980160 of 461297 of 4612.0

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 24 September 2019. Results file: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2019/R_20190924_1.pdf. Compiled by 500metrics, "2-year note auction of 24 September 2019 (new issue)", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/2-year-note/2019-09-24.

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