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Treasury auctions · 3-Year Note

3-year note auction of 7 February 2017 (new issue)

The 3-year note sold $26.771 billion at a high yield of 1.423% on , with a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.78.

High yield at each 3-year note auction

The last 36 auctions, this one last

High yield at each 3-year note auction, 11 Mar 2014 to 7 Feb 2017
High yield at each 3-year note auction, 10 Feb 2015 to 7 Feb 2017

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, 11 Mar 2014 to 7 Feb 2017
Bid-to-cover ratio at each 3-year note auction, 10 Feb 2015 to 7 Feb 2017

Who bought the 3-year note of 7 Feb 2017

Shares of the competitive bids accepted

  • Indirect bidders 57.2%
  • Direct bidders 8.1%
  • Primary dealers 34.7%
This auction, 7 Feb 2017
  • Indirect bidders 54.6%
  • Direct bidders 6.6%
  • Primary dealers 38.8%
The 3-year note auction before, 10 Jan 2017

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 bidders57.2%
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
1.4232.78
1.4722.97
1.4522.65
1.0342.69
1.0452.92
0.9472.77
0.8502.98
0.7652.69
0.9302.79
0.8752.93
0.8902.72
1.0392.71
0.8442.74
1.1742.94
1.2553.14
1.2712.82
0.8953.14
1.0563.23
1.0133.34
0.9323.16
1.1253.33
1.0003.34
0.8653.25
1.1043.33
1.0503.34
0.9263.33
1.0663.24
0.9983.18
0.9943.42
1.0663.17
0.9243.03
0.9923.38
0.9303.41
0.9283.40
0.8953.36
0.8023.25

Observed .

Right now

The high yield was 1.423% on 7 February 2017, down from 1.472% at the auction before.

The high minus median of 6.3 basis points was the highest for a 3-year note since 9 February 2010, with 83 auctions in between.

Higher than 86 of the 99 since 10 November 2008

Its own history

Against the previous 24 3-year note auctions, the high minus median was higher than all 24.

The high yield was higher than 22 of them.

See every measure against earlier auctions

Who bought

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

  • Indirect bidders 57.2%
  • Direct bidders 8.1%
  • Primary dealers 34.7%

Size

Treasury sold $26.771 billion of the $24 billion offered.

Bids received came to $69.551 billion; the bid-to-cover ratio was 2.78.

Its bid-to-cover of 2.78 compares with the 24 auctions before it: lowest 2.65 on , highest 3.34 on ; 18.8% of the way from the low to the high.

2.78

Low 2.65 Midpoint 2.995 High 3.34

The security3-Year, new issue

Coupon
1.375%
Announced
Issued
Matures

It adds to the debt that matures in February 2020.

Understanding this result

Where it stands today

The high yield was 1.423% at this 3-year note auction, the median yield 1.360% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.78.

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$24,000,000,000
Bids received$69,550,510,900
Sold$26,771,114,900
Competitive bids accepted$23,949,604,000
Non-competitive bids accepted$50,458,100
Federal Reserve (SOMA) add-on$2,771,052,800
Foreign and international (FIMA) non-competitive$0
High yield, %1.423
Median rate, %1.360
Low rate, %1.188
Interest rate (coupon), %1.375
Bids at the high rate filled, %13.03
Bid-to-cover ratio2.78
Indirect bidders accepted$13,701,000,000
Direct bidders accepted$1,940,000,000
Primary dealers accepted$8,308,604,000
Indirect bidders' share, % (ours)57.2
Direct bidders' share, % (ours)8.1
Primary dealers' share, % (ours)34.7
High minus median, basis points (ours)6.3
Treasury par yield curve, 3-year point, same day, %1.43
High yield minus that point, basis points (ours)-0.7
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 ratio2.782.765 of 127 of 12
High yield1.4230.9382 of 1210 of 12
Indirect bidders' share57.250.11 of 1211 of 12
Direct bidders' share8.19.89 of 123 of 12
Primary dealers' share34.740.09 of 123 of 12
High minus median, basis points6.33.70 of 1212 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 ratio2.78Last 24 auctions17 of 247 of 242.96
Bid-to-cover ratio2.78Since 10 November 200884 of 9915 of 993.23
Bid-to-cover ratio2.78All 115 since 6 May 200385 of 11530 of 1153.16
High yield1.423Last 24 auctions2 of 2422 of 241.024
High yield1.423Since 10 November 200813 of 9986 of 990.928
High yield1.423All 182 since 5 May 198196 of 18286 of 1821.480
Indirect bidders' share57.2Last 24 auctions2 of 2422 of 2450.1
Indirect bidders' share57.2All 99 since 10 November 20085 of 9994 of 9938.7
Direct bidders' share8.1Last 24 auctions18 of 246 of 249.9
Direct bidders' share8.1All 99 since 10 November 200877 of 9922 of 9911.5
Primary dealers' share34.7Last 24 auctions19 of 245 of 2439.6
Primary dealers' share34.7All 99 since 10 November 200892 of 997 of 9946.8
High minus median, basis points6.3Last 24 auctions0 of 2424 of 243.5
High minus median, basis points6.3Since 10 November 20085 of 9994 of 993.1
High minus median, basis points6.3All 182 since 5 May 19816 of 182176 of 1822.2

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 7 February 2017. Results file: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2017/R_20170207_3.pdf. Compiled by 500metrics, "3-year note auction of 7 February 2017 (new issue)", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/3-year-note/2017-02-07.

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