Treasury auctions · 5-Year TIPS

5-year TIPS auction of 21 April 2011 (new issue)

The 5-year TIPS sold $14 billion at a high real yield of -0.180% on , with a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.57.

Real yield at each 5-year TIPS auction

The last 13 auctions, this one last

Real yield at each 5-year TIPS auction, 9 Jul 1997 to 21 Apr 2011
Real yield at each 5-year TIPS auction, 25 Apr 2006 to 21 Apr 2011

Bid-to-cover ratio at each 5-year TIPS auction

The last 13 auctions, this one last

Bid-to-cover ratio at each 5-year TIPS auction, 9 Jul 1997 to 21 Apr 2011
Bid-to-cover ratio at each 5-year TIPS auction, 25 Apr 2006 to 21 Apr 2011

Who bought the 5-year TIPS of 21 Apr 2011

Shares of the competitive bids accepted

  • Indirect bidders 39.5%
  • Direct bidders 2.7%
  • Primary dealers 57.8%
This auction, 21 Apr 2011
  • Indirect bidders 39.4%
  • Direct bidders 3.2%
  • Primary dealers 57.5%
The 5-year TIPS auction before, 25 Oct 2010

Each point is one 5-year TIPS auction, this one last; pointing at the chart shows its date and figures.

Select a line to followLatest:

  • Indirect bidders39.5%
Inspect and compare dates
Real yield and bid-to-cover of the last 13 5-year TIPS auctions, newest first
AuctionReal yield, %Bid-to-cover
-0.1802.57
-0.5502.84
0.5503.15
0.7693.10
1.2782.66
3.2701.81
0.7452.20
1.9542.44
2.1142.45
2.6912.89
2.3791.46
3.6003.56
3.744–

Observed .

Right now

The high real yield was -0.180% on 21 April 2011, up from -0.550% at the auction before.

Its own history

The indirect bidders' share was higher than 5 of all 6 earlier 5-year TIPS auctions we hold.

The real yield was higher than 1 of all 12 earlier 5-year TIPS auctions we hold.

See every measure against earlier auctions

Who bought

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

  • Indirect bidders 39.5%
  • Direct bidders 2.7%
  • Primary dealers 57.8%

Size

Treasury sold $14 billion of the $14 billion offered.

Bids received came to $36 billion; the bid-to-cover ratio was 2.57.

Its bid-to-cover of 2.57 compares with the 11 auctions before it: lowest 1.46 on , highest 3.56 on ; 52.9% of the way from the low to the high.

2.57

Low 1.46 Midpoint 2.510 High 3.56

The security5-Year, new issue

Coupon
0.125%
Announced
Issued
Matures

It adds to the debt that matures in April 2016.

Understanding this result

Where it stands today

The high real yield was -0.180% at this 5-year TIPS auction, the median real yield -0.260% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.57.

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.

Read more

How does it compare with the par yield curve?

The real par yield curve comparison sets the high yield against Treasury's own real par yield curve on the auction day, at the point nearest this security's maturity (5-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
5-year TIPS auction of 21 April 2011: Treasury's published result, with our shares and spread marked "ours"
FieldValue
Offered as5-Year, new issue
Offering amount$14,000,000,000
Bids received$36,000,378,200
Sold$14,000,058,200
Competitive bids accepted$13,838,530,000
Non-competitive bids accepted$161,528,200
Federal Reserve (SOMA) add-on$0
Foreign and international (FIMA) non-competitive$0
Real yield, %-0.180
Median rate, %-0.260
Low rate, %-0.400
Interest rate (coupon), %0.125
Bids at the high rate filled, %40.46
Bid-to-cover ratio2.57
Indirect bidders accepted$5,460,310,000
Direct bidders accepted$374,000,000
Primary dealers accepted$8,004,220,000
Indirect bidders' share, % (ours)39.5
Direct bidders' share, % (ours)2.7
Primary dealers' share, % (ours)57.8
High minus median, basis points (ours)8.0
Treasury real par yield curve, 5-year point, same day, %-0.15
High yield minus that point, basis points (ours)-3.0
How does it compare with earlier auctions?Every window
Against every earlier 5-year TIPS auction we hold
MeasureThis auctionMedianHigherLower
Bid-to-cover ratio2.572.666 of 115 of 11
High real yield-0.1802.03411 of 121 of 12
Indirect bidders' share39.529.61 of 65 of 6
Direct bidders' share2.71.93 of 63 of 6
Primary dealers' share57.865.64 of 62 of 6
High minus median, basis points8.04.74 of 128 of 12

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

The longer windows

Each measure against earlier 5-year TIPS auctions: how many were higher and lower, and their median
MeasureThis auctionWindowHigherLowerMedian
Bid-to-cover ratio2.57Since 22 April 20084 of 62 of 62.75
High real yield-0.180Since 22 April 20085 of 61 of 60.757
High minus median, basis points8.0Since 22 April 20084 of 62 of 69.2

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 21 April 2011. Results file: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2011/R_20110421_1.pdf. Compiled by 500metrics, "5-year TIPS auction of 21 April 2011 (new issue)", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/5-year-tips/2011-04-21.

Page updated