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Treasury auctions · 3-Year Note

3-year note auction of 7 February 2012 (new issue)

The 3-year note sold $35.902 billion at a high yield of 0.347% on , with a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.30.

High yield at each 3-year note auction

The last 36 auctions, this one last

High yield at each 3-year note auction, 10 Mar 2009 to 7 Feb 2012
High yield at each 3-year note auction, 9 Feb 2010 to 7 Feb 2012

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 Mar 2009 to 7 Feb 2012
Bid-to-cover ratio at each 3-year note auction, 9 Feb 2010 to 7 Feb 2012

Who bought the 3-year note of 7 Feb 2012

Shares of the competitive bids accepted

  • Indirect bidders 27.7%
  • Direct bidders 8.5%
  • Primary dealers 63.8%
This auction, 7 Feb 2012
  • Indirect bidders 38.5%
  • Direct bidders 5.3%
  • Primary dealers 56.1%
The 3-year note auction before, 10 Jan 2012

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 bidders27.7%
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
0.3473.30
0.3703.73
0.3523.62
0.3793.41
0.5443.30
0.3343.15
0.5003.29
0.6703.22
0.7653.28
1.0003.29
1.2803.25
1.2983.22
1.3493.01
1.0273.06
0.8622.91
0.5753.26
0.5692.95
0.7903.21
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

Observed .

Right now

The high yield was 0.347% on 7 February 2012, down from 0.370% at the auction before.

The primary dealers' share of 63.8% was the highest for a 3-year note since 7 January 2009, with 36 auctions in between.

Higher than 1 of the 39 since 10 November 2008

Its own history

Against the previous 24 3-year note auctions, the primary dealers' share was higher than all 24.

The bid-to-cover ratio was higher than 19 of them.

See every measure against earlier auctions

Who bought

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

  • Indirect bidders 27.7%
  • Direct bidders 8.5%
  • Primary dealers 63.8%

Size

Treasury sold $35.902 billion of the $32 billion offered.

Bids received came to $109.58 billion; the bid-to-cover ratio was 3.30.

Its bid-to-cover of 3.30 compares with the 24 auctions before it: lowest 2.83 on , highest 3.73 on ; 52.2% of the way from the low to the high.

3.30

Low 2.83 Midpoint 3.280 High 3.73

The security3-Year, new issue

Coupon
0.250%
Announced
Issued
Matures

It adds to the debt that matures in February 2015.

Understanding this result

Where it stands today

The high yield was 0.347% at this 3-year note auction, the median yield 0.332% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.30.

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 (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$32,000,000,000
Bids received$109,580,388,200
Sold$35,901,818,200
Competitive bids accepted$31,962,430,000
Non-competitive bids accepted$37,618,300
Federal Reserve (SOMA) add-on$3,901,769,900
Foreign and international (FIMA) non-competitive$0
High yield, %0.347
Median rate, %0.332
Low rate, %0.250
Interest rate (coupon), %0.250
Bids at the high rate filled, %12.68
Bid-to-cover ratio3.30
Indirect bidders accepted$8,857,000,000
Direct bidders accepted$2,718,170,000
Primary dealers accepted$20,387,260,000
Indirect bidders' share, % (ours)27.7
Direct bidders' share, % (ours)8.5
Primary dealers' share, % (ours)63.8
High minus median, basis points (ours)1.5
Treasury par yield curve, 3-year point, same day, %0.35
High yield minus that point, basis points (ours)-0.3
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 ratio3.303.283 of 128 of 12
High yield0.3470.60711 of 121 of 12
Indirect bidders' share27.735.711 of 121 of 12
Direct bidders' share8.510.39 of 123 of 12
Primary dealers' share63.853.80 of 1212 of 12
High minus median, basis points1.53.011 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 ratio3.30Last 24 auctions4 of 2419 of 243.22
Bid-to-cover ratio3.30Since 10 November 20085 of 3933 of 393.10
Bid-to-cover ratio3.30All 55 since 6 May 20035 of 5549 of 552.95
High yield0.347Last 24 auctions23 of 241 of 240.853
High yield0.347Since 10 November 200838 of 391 of 391.245
High yield0.347All 122 since 5 May 1981121 of 1221 of 1225.020
Indirect bidders' share27.7Last 24 auctions23 of 241 of 2438.6
Indirect bidders' share27.7All 39 since 10 November 200838 of 391 of 3939.1
Direct bidders' share8.5Last 24 auctions21 of 243 of 2411.8
Direct bidders' share8.5All 39 since 10 November 200824 of 3915 of 3910.3
Primary dealers' share63.8Last 24 auctions0 of 2424 of 2447.5
Primary dealers' share63.8All 39 since 10 November 20082 of 3937 of 3945.9
High minus median, basis points1.5Last 24 auctions23 of 240 of 243.2
High minus median, basis points1.5Since 10 November 200838 of 390 of 394.4
High minus median, basis points1.5All 122 since 5 May 198168 of 12253 of 1222.0

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 7 February 2012. Results file: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2012/R_20120207_3.pdf. Compiled by 500metrics, "3-year note auction of 7 February 2012 (new issue)", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/3-year-note/2012-02-07.

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