Treasury auctions · 3-Year Note

3-year note auction of 8 January 2013 (new issue)

The 3-year note sold $32 billion at a high yield of 0.385% on , with a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.62.

High yield at each 3-year note auction

The last 36 auctions, this one last

High yield at each 3-year note auction, 9 Feb 2010 to 8 Jan 2013
High yield at each 3-year note auction, 11 Jan 2011 to 8 Jan 2013

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, 9 Feb 2010 to 8 Jan 2013
Bid-to-cover ratio at each 3-year note auction, 11 Jan 2011 to 8 Jan 2013

Who bought the 3-year note of 8 Jan 2013

Shares of the competitive bids accepted

  • Indirect bidders 28.4%
  • Direct bidders 26.4%
  • Primary dealers 45.2%
This auction, 8 Jan 2013
  • Indirect bidders 21.9%
  • Direct bidders 24.8%
  • Primary dealers 53.3%
The 3-year note auction before, 11 Dec 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 bidders28.4%
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
0.3853.62
0.3273.36
0.3923.41
0.3463.96
0.3373.94
0.3703.51
0.3663.52
0.3873.53
0.3623.65
0.4273.36
0.4563.44
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

Observed .

Right now

The high yield was 0.385% on 8 January 2013, up from 0.327% at the auction before.

The direct bidders' share of 26.4% was the highest of all 50 earlier 3-year note auctions we hold.

The primary dealers' share of 45.2% was the lowest for a 3-year note since 8 November 2011, with 13 auctions in between.

Higher than 11 of the 50 since 10 November 2008

Its own history

Against the previous 24 3-year note auctions, the direct bidders' 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 28.4%
  • Direct bidders 26.4%
  • Primary dealers 45.2%

Size

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

Bids received came to $115.945 billion; the bid-to-cover ratio was 3.62.

Its bid-to-cover of 3.62 compares with the 24 auctions before it: lowest 3.01 on , highest 3.96 on ; 64.2% of the way from the low to the high.

3.62

Low 3.01 Midpoint 3.485 High 3.96

The security3-Year, new issue

Coupon
0.375%
Announced
Issued
Matures

It adds to the debt that matures in January 2016.

Understanding this result

Where it stands today

The high yield was 0.385% at this 3-year note auction, the median yield 0.370% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.62.

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
3-year note auction of 8 January 2013: Treasury's published result, with our shares and spread marked "ours"
FieldValue
Offered as3-Year, new issue
Offering amount$32,000,000,000
Bids received$115,944,522,100
Sold$32,000,047,100
Competitive bids accepted$31,869,925,000
Non-competitive bids accepted$30,122,100
Federal Reserve (SOMA) add-on$0
Foreign and international (FIMA) non-competitive$100,000,000
High yield, %0.385
Median rate, %0.370
Low rate, %0.300
Interest rate (coupon), %0.375
Bids at the high rate filled, %5.51
Bid-to-cover ratio3.62
Indirect bidders accepted$9,052,440,000
Direct bidders accepted$8,407,000,000
Primary dealers accepted$14,410,485,000
Indirect bidders' share, % (ours)28.4
Direct bidders' share, % (ours)26.4
Primary dealers' share, % (ours)45.2
High minus median, basis points (ours)1.5
Treasury par yield curve, 3-year point, same day, %0.38
High yield minus that point, basis points (ours)0.5
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 ratio3.623.524 of 128 of 12
High yield0.3850.3684 of 128 of 12
Indirect bidders' share28.429.88 of 124 of 12
Direct bidders' share26.410.70 of 1212 of 12
Primary dealers' share45.254.712 of 120 of 12
High minus median, basis points1.51.68 of 121 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 ratio3.62Last 24 auctions4 of 2419 of 243.36
Bid-to-cover ratio3.62Since 10 November 20084 of 5045 of 503.22
Bid-to-cover ratio3.62All 66 since 6 May 20034 of 6661 of 663.04
High yield0.385Last 24 auctions13 of 2411 of 240.390
High yield0.385Since 10 November 200839 of 5011 of 501.014
High yield0.385All 133 since 5 May 1981122 of 13311 of 1334.700
Indirect bidders' share28.4Last 24 auctions19 of 245 of 2434.6
Indirect bidders' share28.4All 50 since 10 November 200844 of 506 of 5037.9
Direct bidders' share26.4Last 24 auctions0 of 2424 of 2410.8
Direct bidders' share26.4All 50 since 10 November 20080 of 5050 of 5010.5
Primary dealers' share45.2Last 24 auctions21 of 243 of 2453.5
Primary dealers' share45.2All 50 since 10 November 200832 of 5018 of 5052.1
High minus median, basis points1.5Last 24 auctions20 of 241 of 242.2
High minus median, basis points1.5Since 10 November 200846 of 501 of 503.4
High minus median, basis points1.5All 133 since 5 May 198176 of 13354 of 1332.0

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 8 January 2013. Results file: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2013/R_20130108_3.pdf. Compiled by 500metrics, "3-year note auction of 8 January 2013 (new issue)", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/3-year-note/2013-01-08.

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