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Treasury auctions · 3-Year Note

3-year note auction of 10 August 2010 (new issue)

The 3-year note sold $36.036 billion at a high yield of 0.844% on , with a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.31.

High yield at each 3-year note auction

The last 36 auctions, this one last

High yield at each 3-year note auction, 10 Nov 2003 to 10 Aug 2010
High yield at each 3-year note auction, 10 Nov 2008 to 10 Aug 2010

Bid-to-cover ratio at each 3-year note auction

The last 36 auctions, this one last

Bid-to-cover ratio at each 3-year note auction, 10 Nov 2003 to 10 Aug 2010
Bid-to-cover ratio at each 3-year note auction, 10 Nov 2008 to 10 Aug 2010

Who bought the 3-year note of 10 Aug 2010

Shares of the competitive bids accepted

  • Indirect bidders 40.5%
  • Direct bidders 15.8%
  • Primary dealers 43.7%
This auction, 10 Aug 2010
  • Indirect bidders 40.6%
  • Direct bidders 14.3%
  • Primary dealers 45.1%
The 3-year note auction before, 12 Jul 2010

Each point is one 3-year note auction, this one last; pointing at the chart shows its date and figures.

Select a line to followLatest:

  • Indirect bidders40.5%
Inspect and compare dates
High yield and bid-to-cover of the last 36 3-year note auctions, newest first
AuctionHigh yield, %Bid-to-cover
0.8443.31
1.0553.20
1.2203.23
1.4143.27
1.7763.10
1.4373.13
1.3772.83
1.4902.98
1.2232.98
1.4043.33
1.4452.76
1.4873.02
1.7802.89
1.5192.62
1.9602.82
1.4732.66
1.3852.42
1.4892.26
1.4192.67
1.2002.21
1.2452.15
1.8003.07
4.5742.39
4.8002.97
4.6662.27
4.8982.14
4.9952.31
4.5952.03
4.4582.42
4.2042.31
3.8212.38
3.4702.01
2.8422.02
3.1992.08
2.3302.27
2.6252.11

Observed .

Right now

The high yield of 0.844% on 10 August 2010 was the lowest of all 104 earlier 3-year note auctions we hold.

The high minus median of 2.9 basis points was the lowest for a 3-year note since 7 May 2007, with 21 auctions in between.

Lower than all 21 since 10 November 2008

Its own history

The high yield was lower than all 24 previous 3-year note auctions.

The bid-to-cover ratio was higher than 23 of the previous 24 3-year note auctions.

See every measure against earlier auctions

Who bought

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

  • Indirect bidders 40.5%
  • Direct bidders 15.8%
  • Primary dealers 43.7%

Size

Treasury sold $36.036 billion of the $34 billion offered.

Bids received came to $114.551 billion; the bid-to-cover ratio was 3.31.

Its bid-to-cover of 3.31 compares with the 24 auctions before it: lowest 2.15 on , highest 3.33 on ; 98.3% of the way from the low to the high.

3.31

Low 2.15 Midpoint 2.740 High 3.33

The security3-Year, new issue

Coupon
0.750%
Announced
Issued
Matures

It adds to the debt that matures in August 2013.

Understanding this result

Where it stands today

The high yield was 0.844% at this 3-year note auction, the median yield 0.815% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.31.

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 (3-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 as3-Year, new issue
Offering amount$34,000,000,000
Bids received$114,551,146,600
Sold$36,036,086,600
Competitive bids accepted$33,908,375,000
Non-competitive bids accepted$91,682,100
Federal Reserve (SOMA) add-on$2,036,029,500
Foreign and international (FIMA) non-competitive$0
High yield, %0.844
Median rate, %0.815
Low rate, %0.738
Interest rate (coupon), %0.750
Bids at the high rate filled, %53.42
Bid-to-cover ratio3.31
Indirect bidders accepted$13,734,010,000
Direct bidders accepted$5,350,555,000
Primary dealers accepted$14,823,810,000
Indirect bidders' share, % (ours)40.5
Direct bidders' share, % (ours)15.8
Primary dealers' share, % (ours)43.7
High minus median, basis points (ours)2.9
Treasury par yield curve, 3-year point, same day, %0.78
High yield minus that point, basis points (ours)6.4
How does it compare with earlier auctions?The previous 12 auctions, then every window
Against the previous 12 auctions of the 3-year note
MeasureThis auctionMedianHigherLower
Bid-to-cover ratio3.313.061 of 1211 of 12
High yield0.8441.42612 of 120 of 12
Indirect bidders' share40.551.511 of 121 of 12
Direct bidders' share15.810.53 of 129 of 12
Primary dealers' share43.737.41 of 1211 of 12
High minus median, basis points2.94.812 of 120 of 12

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

The longer windows

Each measure against earlier 3-year note auctions: how many were higher and lower, and their median
MeasureThis auctionWindowHigherLowerMedian
Bid-to-cover ratio3.31Last 24 auctions1 of 2423 of 242.86
Bid-to-cover ratio3.31Since 10 November 20081 of 2120 of 212.89
Bid-to-cover ratio3.31All 37 since 6 May 20031 of 3736 of 372.42
High yield0.844Last 24 auctions24 of 240 of 241.459
High yield0.844Since 10 November 200821 of 210 of 211.437
High yield0.844All 104 since 5 May 1981104 of 1040 of 1045.988
Indirect bidders' share40.5All 21 since 10 November 200814 of 217 of 2146.7
Direct bidders' share15.8All 21 since 10 November 20083 of 2118 of 217.5
Primary dealers' share43.7All 21 since 10 November 20088 of 2113 of 2140.0
High minus median, basis points2.9Last 24 auctions21 of 243 of 245.4
High minus median, basis points2.9Since 10 November 200821 of 210 of 215.6
High minus median, basis points2.9All 104 since 5 May 198137 of 10466 of 1041.2

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 10 August 2010. Results file: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2010/R_20100810_2.pdf. Compiled by 500metrics, "3-year note auction of 10 August 2010 (new issue)", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/3-year-note/2010-08-10.

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