Treasury auctions · 20-year TIPS

How did the latest 20-year TIPS auction go?

The last 20-year TIPS auction, on 27 July 2009, sold at a high real yield of 2.387% with a bid-to-cover of 2.27.

Discontinued Treasury has not auctioned this term since 27 July 2009.

Real yieldBid-to-cover

Real yield at each 20-year TIPS auction

8 auctions with results since 24 Jan 20068 on this page

FromTo

Bid-to-cover ratio at each 20-year TIPS auction

8 auctions with results since 24 Jan 20068 on this page

FromTo

Each point is one auction; pointing at the chart shows its date and figures. The full results are under "The numbers behind the chart".

Select a line to followLatest: 27 Jul 2009

Real yield2.387%
Bid-to-cover2.27
Indirect bidders47.8%

Inspect and compare dates

The latest 20-year TIPS auction beside the one before it and the nearest ones a year, five and ten years earlier.

The 20-year TIPS auction of 27 Jul 2009 beside earlier ones
Measure	Latest	The auction before	A year earlier
Auction	27 Jul 2009	26 Jan 2009	22 Jul 2008
Real yield, %	2.387	2.500	2.219
Bid-to-cover	2.27	1.92	1.58
Indirect bidders, %	47.8	54.0	43.1
Direct bidders, %	1.1	0.4	1.1
Primary dealers, %	51.0	45.6	55.8
Sold, $ billion	6.150	8.000	6.661

Observed 27 Jul 2009.

Right now

The high real yield was 2.387% on 27 July 2009, down from 2.500% at the auction before.

Its own history

The bid-to-cover ratio was higher than all 7 earlier 20-year TIPS auctions we hold and the direct bidders' share was higher than all 2 earlier 20-year TIPS auctions we hold.

The high minus median was higher than 5 of all 7 earlier 20-year TIPS auctions we hold.

See every measure against earlier auctions

Who bought

Primary dealers took the largest share of the competitive bids accepted at the 27 Jul 2009 auction.

Indirect bidders 47.8%
Direct bidders 1.1%
Primary dealers 51.0%

Size

Treasury offered $6 billion and sold $6.15 billion on 27 Jul 2009.

Understanding the 20-year TIPS auction

Where it stands today

The high real yield was 2.387% at the 20-year TIPS auction of 27 Jul 2009, with a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.27.

What do these figures measure?

The high real 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.

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

How does the latest auction compare with earlier ones?Every measure, window by window

Each measure against earlier 20-year TIPS auctions: how many were higher and lower, and their median
Measure	This auction	Window	Higher	Lower	Median
Bid-to-cover ratio	2.27	Since 22 July 2008	0 of 2	2 of 2	1.75
Bid-to-cover ratio	2.27	All 7 since 24 January 2006	0 of 7	7 of 7	1.92
High real yield	2.387	Since 22 July 2008	1 of 2	1 of 2	2.360
High real yield	2.387	All 7 since 24 January 2006	4 of 7	3 of 7	2.420
Indirect bidders' share	47.8	All 2 since 22 July 2008	1 of 2	1 of 2	48.5
Direct bidders' share	1.1	All 2 since 22 July 2008	0 of 2	2 of 2	0.8
Primary dealers' share	51.0	All 2 since 22 July 2008	1 of 2	1 of 2	50.7
High minus median, basis points	8.7	Since 22 July 2008	2 of 2	0 of 2	14.0
High minus median, basis points	8.7	All 7 since 24 January 2006	2 of 7	5 of 7	5.7

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

What were the results of every 20-year TIPS auction?8 auctions, newest first

8 20-year TIPS auctions with results since 24 January 2006.

20-year TIPS auctions, newest first; dated links open an auction's own page
Auction	Offered as	Real yield, %	Bid-to-cover	Offered, $ billion	Sold, $ billion	Indirect, %	Direct, %	Dealers, %	High − median, bp
27 Jul 2009	19-Year 6-Month, reopening	2.387	2.27	6.000	6.150	47.8	1.1	51.0	8.7
26 Jan 2009	20-Year	2.500	1.92	8.000	8.000	54.0	0.4	45.6	19.0
22 Jul 2008	19-Year 6-Month, reopening	2.219	1.58	6.000	6.661	43.1	1.1	55.8	8.9
24 Jan 2008	20-Year	1.807	1.79	8.000	8.974	–	–	–	5.7
24 Jul 2007	19-Year 6-Month, reopening	2.600	2.23	6.000	7.294	–	–	–	1.1
23 Jan 2007	20-Year	2.420	2.05	8.000	9.189	–	–	–	3.5
25 Jul 2006	19-Year 6-Month, reopening	2.494	2.24	7.000	8.235	–	–	–	1.4
24 Jan 2006	20-Year	2.039	1.48	10.000	11.765	–	–	–	8.4

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

What do the figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite

Observed 27 Jul 2009.

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

How to cite this

U.S. Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Fiscal Data, Treasury Securities Auctions Data, through 27 July 2009. Compiled by 500metrics, "How did the latest 20-year TIPS auction go?", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/20-year-tips.

Page updated 4 Oct 2026, 09:34 UTC