Treasury auctions · 5-Year TIPS

5-year TIPS auction of 21 October 2021 (new issue)

The 5-year TIPS sold $19 billion at a high real yield of -1.685% on , with a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.45.

Real yield at each 5-year TIPS auction

The last 36 auctions, this one last

Real yield at each 5-year TIPS auction, 21 Apr 2011 to 21 Oct 2021
Real yield at each 5-year TIPS auction, 15 Dec 2011 to 21 Oct 2021
Real yield at each 5-year TIPS auction, 19 Dec 2019 to 21 Oct 2021

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

The last 36 auctions, this one last

Bid-to-cover ratio at each 5-year TIPS auction, 21 Apr 2011 to 21 Oct 2021
Bid-to-cover ratio at each 5-year TIPS auction, 15 Dec 2011 to 21 Oct 2021
Bid-to-cover ratio at each 5-year TIPS auction, 19 Dec 2019 to 21 Oct 2021

Who bought the 5-year TIPS of 21 Oct 2021

Shares of the competitive bids accepted

  • Indirect bidders 78.4%
  • Direct bidders 15.5%
  • Primary dealers 6.1%
This auction, 21 Oct 2021
  • Indirect bidders 87.3%
  • Direct bidders 7.9%
  • Primary dealers 4.7%
The 5-year TIPS auction before, 17 Jun 2021

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 bidders78.4%
Inspect and compare dates
Real yield and bid-to-cover of the last 36 5-year TIPS auctions, newest first
AuctionReal yield, %Bid-to-cover
-1.6852.45
-1.4162.67
-1.6312.50
-1.5752.86
-1.3202.66
-0.9516.31
-0.7662.78
-0.3202.74
0.0202.69
0.0542.75
0.1522.55
0.5152.50
1.1292.80
0.7242.78
0.6312.55
0.3702.78
0.1172.41
-0.0492.52
0.1202.68
-0.2092.37
-0.1952.42
0.4722.38
0.3052.58
-0.3352.27
0.3952.37
-0.2812.48
-0.2132.70
-0.3752.54
-0.1272.18
-1.3112.18
-1.4962.70
-1.2863.11
-1.0802.58
-0.8773.01
-0.8252.49
-0.1802.57

Observed .

Right now

The high real yield of -1.685% on 21 October 2021 was the lowest of all 47 earlier 5-year TIPS auctions we hold.

The bid-to-cover ratio of 2.45 was the lowest for a 5-year TIPS since 24 August 2017, with 15 auctions in between.

Lower than all 41 since 22 April 2008

Its own history

Against the previous 24 5-year TIPS auctions, the real yield was lower than all 24.

The indirect bidders' share was higher than 21 of them.

See every measure against earlier auctions

Who bought

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

  • Indirect bidders 78.4%
  • Direct bidders 15.5%
  • Primary dealers 6.1%

Size

Treasury sold $19 billion of the $19 billion offered.

Bids received came to $46.548 billion; the bid-to-cover ratio was 2.45.

Its bid-to-cover of 2.45 compares with the 24 auctions before it: lowest 2.27 on , highest 6.31 on ; 4.5% of the way from the low to the high.

2.45

Low 2.27 Midpoint 4.290 High 6.31

The security5-Year, new issue

Coupon
0.125%
Announced
Issued
Matures

It adds to the debt that matures in October 2026.

Understanding this result

Where it stands today

The high real yield was -1.685% at this 5-year TIPS auction, the median real yield -1.750% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.45.

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 October 2021: Treasury's published result, with our shares and spread marked "ours"
FieldValue
Offered as5-Year, new issue
Offering amount$19,000,000,000
Bids received$46,548,061,700
Sold$19,000,103,200
Competitive bids accepted$18,942,742,100
Non-competitive bids accepted$57,361,100
Federal Reserve (SOMA) add-on$0
Foreign and international (FIMA) non-competitive$0
Real yield, %-1.685
Median rate, %-1.750
Low rate, %-1.770
Interest rate (coupon), %0.125
Bids at the high rate filled, %41.49
Bid-to-cover ratio2.45
Indirect bidders accepted$14,853,297,000
Direct bidders accepted$2,929,445,100
Primary dealers accepted$1,160,000,000
Indirect bidders' share, % (ours)78.4
Direct bidders' share, % (ours)15.5
Primary dealers' share, % (ours)6.1
High minus median, basis points (ours)6.5
Treasury real par yield curve, 5-year point, same day, %-1.71
High yield minus that point, basis points (ours)2.5
How does it compare with earlier auctions?The previous 12 auctions, then every window
Against the previous 12 auctions of the 5-year TIPS
MeasureThis auctionMedianHigherLower
Bid-to-cover ratio2.452.7212 of 120 of 12
High real yield-1.685-0.54312 of 120 of 12
Indirect bidders' share78.469.63 of 129 of 12
Direct bidders' share15.59.84 of 128 of 12
Primary dealers' share6.114.011 of 121 of 12
High minus median, basis points6.54.51 of 1211 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 ratio2.45Last 24 auctions18 of 246 of 242.62
Bid-to-cover ratio2.45Since 22 April 200831 of 4110 of 412.58
Bid-to-cover ratio2.45All 46 since 8 October 199733 of 4612 of 462.58
High real yield-1.685Last 24 auctions24 of 240 of 240.037
High real yield-1.685Since 22 April 200841 of 410 of 41-0.180
High real yield-1.685All 47 since 9 July 199747 of 470 of 470.020
Indirect bidders' share78.4Last 24 auctions3 of 2421 of 2468.5
Indirect bidders' share78.4All 41 since 22 April 20083 of 4138 of 4161.5
Direct bidders' share15.5Last 24 auctions4 of 2420 of 248.7
Direct bidders' share15.5All 41 since 22 April 20085 of 4136 of 418.4
Primary dealers' share6.1Last 24 auctions23 of 241 of 2417.7
Primary dealers' share6.1All 41 since 22 April 200840 of 411 of 4130.5
High minus median, basis points6.5Last 24 auctions4 of 2417 of 245.0
High minus median, basis points6.5Since 22 April 200814 of 4124 of 415.4
High minus median, basis points6.5All 47 since 9 July 199715 of 4729 of 475.2

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 October 2021. Results file: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2021/R_20211021_3.pdf. Compiled by 500metrics, "5-year TIPS auction of 21 October 2021 (new issue)", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/5-year-tips/2021-10-21.

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