Treasury auctions · 7-Year Note

7-year note auction of 26 February 2009 (new issue)

The 7-year note sold $23.178 billion at a high yield of 2.748% on , with a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.11.

High yield at each 7-year note auction

The last 36 auctions, this one last

High yield at each 7-year note auction, 28 Mar 1984 to 26 Feb 2009

Who bought the 7-year note of 26 Feb 2009

Shares of the competitive bids accepted

  • Indirect bidders 38.7%
  • Direct bidders 3.7%
  • Primary dealers 57.6%
This auction, 26 Feb 2009

Each point is one 7-year note auction, this one last; pointing at the chart shows its date and figures.

Select a line to followLatest:

  • Bid-to-cover2.11
  • Indirect bidders38.7%
Inspect and compare dates
High yield and bid-to-cover of the last 36 7-year note auctions, newest first
AuctionHigh yield, %Bid-to-cover
2.7482.11
5.580–
6.440–
6.050–
6.450–
7.140–
6.410–
7.200–
8.260–
7.940–
7.950–
8.790–
8.580–
8.630–
8.020–
8.080–
7.900–
9.400–
9.300–
8.750–
8.920–
8.450–
8.680–
9.540–
8.120–
7.040–
7.100–
7.360–
7.500–
8.870–
10.410–
11.850–
11.700–
12.350–
13.840–
12.420–

Observed .

Right now

The high yield of 2.748% on 26 February 2009 was the lowest of all 49 earlier 7-year note auctions we hold.

The high minus median of 7.8 basis points was the highest for a 7-year note since 6 January 1982, with 43 auctions in between.

Lower than all 49 since 6 February 1980

Its own history

Against the previous 24 7-year note auctions, the high minus median was higher than all 24.

The high yield was lower than all 24.

See every measure against earlier auctions

Who bought

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

  • Indirect bidders 38.7%
  • Direct bidders 3.7%
  • Primary dealers 57.6%

Size

Treasury sold $23.178 billion of the $22 billion offered.

Bids received came to $47.492 billion; the bid-to-cover ratio was 2.11.

The security7-Year, new issue

Coupon
2.625%
Announced
Issued
Matures

It adds to the debt that matures in February 2016.

Understanding this result

Where it stands today

The high yield was 2.748% at this 7-year note auction, the median yield 2.670% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.11.

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 (7-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
7-year note auction of 26 February 2009: Treasury's published result, with our shares and spread marked "ours"
FieldValue
Offered as7-Year, new issue
Offering amount$22,000,000,000
Bids received$47,492,300,600
Sold$23,178,494,600
Competitive bids accepted$21,893,019,000
Non-competitive bids accepted$6,988,300
Federal Reserve (SOMA) add-on$1,178,487,300
Foreign and international (FIMA) non-competitive$100,000,000
High yield, %2.748
Median rate, %2.670
Low rate, %2.500
Interest rate (coupon), %2.625
Bids at the high rate filled, %67.47
Bid-to-cover ratio2.11
Indirect bidders accepted$8,472,525,000
Direct bidders accepted$804,494,000
Primary dealers accepted$12,616,000,000
Indirect bidders' share, % (ours)38.7
Direct bidders' share, % (ours)3.7
Primary dealers' share, % (ours)57.6
High minus median, basis points (ours)7.8
Treasury par yield curve, 7-year point, same day, %2.72
High yield minus that point, basis points (ours)2.8
How does it compare with earlier auctions?The previous 12 auctions, then every window
Against the previous 12 auctions of the 7-year note
MeasureThis auctionMedianHigherLower
High yield2.7487.17012 of 120 of 12
High minus median, basis points7.81.00 of 1212 of 12

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

The longer windows

Each measure against earlier 7-year note auctions: how many were higher and lower, and their median
MeasureThis auctionWindowHigherLowerMedian
High yield2.748Last 24 auctions24 of 240 of 248.100
High yield2.748All 49 since 6 February 198049 of 490 of 498.870
High minus median, basis points7.8Last 24 auctions0 of 2424 of 241.0
High minus median, basis points7.8All 49 since 6 February 19801 of 4948 of 491.0

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 26 February 2009. Results file: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2009/R_20090226_1.pdf. Compiled by 500metrics, "7-year note auction of 26 February 2009 (new issue)", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/7-year-note/2009-02-26.

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