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Treasury auctions · 2-Year Note

2-year note auction of 23 December 2019 (new issue)

The 2-year note sold $43.765 billion at a high yield of 1.653% on , with a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.30.

High yield at each 2-year note auction

The last 36 auctions, this one last

High yield at each 2-year note auction, 26 Sep 2016 to 23 Dec 2019
High yield at each 2-year note auction, 26 Dec 2017 to 23 Dec 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, 26 Sep 2016 to 23 Dec 2019
Bid-to-cover ratio at each 2-year note auction, 26 Dec 2017 to 23 Dec 2019

Who bought the 2-year note of 23 Dec 2019

Shares of the competitive bids accepted

  • Indirect bidders 46.3%
  • Direct bidders 21.5%
  • Primary dealers 32.2%
This auction, 23 Dec 2019
  • Indirect bidders 47.8%
  • Direct bidders 29.1%
  • Primary dealers 23.1%
The 2-year note auction before, 25 Nov 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 bidders46.3%
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
1.6532.30
1.6012.63
1.5942.70
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

Observed .

Right now

The high yield was 1.653% on 23 December 2019, up from 1.601% at the auction before.

The bid-to-cover ratio of 2.30 was the lowest for a 2-year note since 22 December 2008, with 122 auctions in between.

Higher than 106 of the 131 since 23 April 2008

Its own history

Against the previous 24 2-year note auctions, the bid-to-cover ratio was lower than all 24.

The direct bidders' share was higher than 19 of them.

See every measure against earlier auctions

Who bought

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

  • Indirect bidders 46.3%
  • Direct bidders 21.5%
  • Primary dealers 32.2%

Size

Treasury sold $43.765 billion of the $40 billion offered.

Bids received came to $95.952 billion; the bid-to-cover ratio was 2.30.

Its bid-to-cover of 2.30 compares with the 24 auctions before it: lowest 2.30 on , highest 3.22 on ; 0.0% of the way from the low to the high.

2.30

Low 2.30 Midpoint 2.760 High 3.22

The security2-Year, new issue

Coupon
1.625%
Announced
Issued
Matures

It adds to the debt that matures in December 2021.

Understanding this result

Where it stands today

The high yield was 1.653% at this 2-year note auction, the median yield 1.625% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.30.

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$95,952,021,600
Sold$43,764,668,600
Competitive bids accepted$39,734,202,000
Non-competitive bids accepted$165,843,700
Federal Reserve (SOMA) add-on$3,764,622,900
Foreign and international (FIMA) non-competitive$100,000,000
High yield, %1.653
Median rate, %1.625
Low rate, %1.450
Interest rate (coupon), %1.625
Bids at the high rate filled, %4.42
Bid-to-cover ratio2.30
Indirect bidders accepted$18,397,826,000
Direct bidders accepted$8,524,000,000
Primary dealers accepted$12,812,376,000
Indirect bidders' share, % (ours)46.3
Direct bidders' share, % (ours)21.5
Primary dealers' share, % (ours)32.2
High minus median, basis points (ours)2.8
Treasury par yield curve, 2-year point, same day, %1.64
High yield minus that point, basis points (ours)1.3
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 ratio2.302.6212 of 120 of 12
High yield1.6531.9758 of 124 of 12
Indirect bidders' share46.347.58 of 124 of 12
Direct bidders' share21.519.95 of 127 of 12
Primary dealers' share32.231.45 of 127 of 12
High minus median, basis points2.82.53 of 129 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 ratio2.30Last 24 auctions24 of 240 of 242.66
Bid-to-cover ratio2.30Since 23 April 2008125 of 1316 of 1313.06
Bid-to-cover ratio2.30All 230 since 27 October 1999171 of 23059 of 2302.69
High yield1.653Last 24 auctions19 of 245 of 242.282
High yield1.653Since 23 April 200825 of 131106 of 1310.789
High yield1.653All 464 since 23 January 1980353 of 464111 of 4644.762
Indirect bidders' share46.3Last 24 auctions10 of 2414 of 2444.9
Indirect bidders' share46.3All 131 since 23 April 200830 of 131101 of 13136.9
Direct bidders' share21.5Last 24 auctions5 of 2419 of 2415.6
Direct bidders' share21.5All 131 since 23 April 200825 of 131106 of 13114.5
Primary dealers' share32.2Last 24 auctions16 of 248 of 2439.5
Primary dealers' share32.2All 131 since 23 April 2008112 of 13119 of 13147.2
High minus median, basis points2.8Last 24 auctions11 of 2412 of 242.8
High minus median, basis points2.8Since 23 April 200861 of 13168 of 1312.6
High minus median, basis points2.8All 464 since 23 January 1980157 of 464303 of 4642.0

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 23 December 2019. Results file: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2019/R_20191223_3.pdf. Compiled by 500metrics, "2-year note auction of 23 December 2019 (new issue)", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/2-year-note/2019-12-23.

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