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2-year note auction of 24 March 2015 (new issue)

The 2-year note sold $26 billion at a high yield of 0.598% on , with a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.46.

Coupon
0.500%
Announced
Issued
Matures

High yield

0.598%

Median yield 0.560%

Bid-to-cover

3.46

▲ +0.01 since 24 Feb

Sold

$26.00 billion

$26 billion offered

Indirect bidders

45.7%

Of competitive bids accepted

High yield at the last 36 2-year note auctions

High yield at each 2-year note auction, %

High yield at the last 36 2-year note auctions36 auctions from 24 April 2012 to 24 March 2015; the latest at 0.598%.0.2%0.4%0.6%0.8%2012201320142015This auction, 0.598%High yield at the last 36 2-year note auctions36 auctions from 24 April 2012 to 24 March 2015; the latest at 0.598%.0.2%0.4%0.6%0.8%2013201420150.598%

Source: U.S. Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Fiscal Data, Treasury Securities Auctions Data. Observed .

The 36 auctions as a table
High yield and bid-to-cover of the last 36 2-year note auctions, newest first
AuctionHigh yield, %Bid-to-cover
0.5983.46
0.6033.45
0.5403.74
0.7033.21
0.5423.71
0.4253.11
0.5893.56
0.5303.48
0.5443.22
0.5113.23
0.3923.52
0.4473.35
0.4693.20
0.3403.60
0.3803.30
0.3453.77
0.3003.54
0.3233.32
0.3483.09
0.3863.21
0.3363.08
0.4303.05
0.2833.04
0.2333.63
0.2553.27
0.2573.33
0.2883.77
0.2453.59
0.2704.07
0.2954.02
0.2733.60
0.2733.94
0.2204.00
0.3133.62
0.3003.95
0.2703.76

Against its own history

Against the previous 12 auctions of the 2-year note
MeasureThis auctionMedianHigherLower
Bid-to-cover ratio3.463.405 of 127 of 12
High yield0.5980.5352 of 1210 of 12
Indirect bidders' share45.736.22 of 1210 of 12
Direct bidders' share18.316.14 of 128 of 12
Primary dealers' share36.048.012 of 120 of 12
High minus median, basis points3.82.20 of 1212 of 12

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

  • Primary dealers' share: Lowest for a 2-year note since 23 October 2012 (28 auctions in between).
  • High minus median, basis points: Highest for a 2-year note since 28 March 2011 (47 auctions in between).

Who bought the 2-year note?

Indirect bidders took 45.7% of the competitive bids accepted

Share of competitive bids accepted, %. Grey: the previous 2-year note auction, 24 February 2015

Indirect bidders took 45.7% of the competitive bids acceptedIndirect bidders 45.7%, Direct bidders 18.3%, Primary dealers 36.0%Indirect bidders45.7%48.2%Direct bidders18.3%13.3%Primary dealers36.0%38.5%Indirect bidders took 45.7% of the competitive bids acceptedIndirect bidders 45.7%, Direct bidders 18.3%, Primary dealers 36.0%Indirect bidders45.7%48.2%Direct bidders18.3%13.3%Primary dealers36.0%38.5%
The shares as a table
Shares of competitive bids accepted, %
BidderThis auctionPrevious
Indirect bidders45.748.2
Direct bidders18.313.3
Primary dealers36.038.5

About these figures

Treasury's full result, how to read it, its limits and sources

Treasury's published result

FieldValue
Offered as2-Year, new issue
Offering amount$26,000,000,000
Bids received$89,872,855,100
Sold$26,000,007,600
Competitive bids accepted$25,743,302,500
Non-competitive bids accepted$156,705,100
Federal Reserve (SOMA) add-on$0
Foreign and international (FIMA) non-competitive$100,000,000
High yield, %0.598
Median rate, %0.560
Low rate, %0.500
Interest rate (coupon), %0.500
Bids at the high rate filled, %19.33
Bid-to-cover ratio3.46
Indirect bidders accepted$11,765,480,000
Direct bidders accepted$4,712,822,500
Primary dealers accepted$9,265,000,000
Indirect bidders' share, % (ours)45.7
Direct bidders' share, % (ours)18.3
Primary dealers' share, % (ours)36.0
High minus median, basis points (ours)3.8
Treasury par yield curve, 2-year point, same day, %0.58
High yield minus that point, basis points (ours)1.8

Treasury's own files: announcement (PDF) · results (PDF)

How to read this result

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.

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 (2-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 this number cannot tell you

  • 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 longer windows

Each measure against earlier 2-year note auctions: how many were higher and lower, and their median
MeasureThis auctionWindowHigherLowerMedian
Bid-to-cover ratio3.46Last 24 auctions9 of 2415 of 243.31
Bid-to-cover ratio3.46Since 23 April 200830 of 8352 of 833.30
Bid-to-cover ratio3.46All 182 since 27 October 199931 of 182150 of 1822.68
High yield0.598Last 24 auctions2 of 2422 of 240.408
High yield0.598Since 23 April 200835 of 8348 of 830.520
High yield0.598All 416 since 23 January 1980368 of 41648 of 4165.362
Indirect bidders' share45.7Last 24 auctions2 of 2422 of 2428.7
Indirect bidders' share45.7All 83 since 23 April 20087 of 8376 of 8333.0
Direct bidders' share18.3Last 24 auctions13 of 2411 of 2419.1
Direct bidders' share18.3All 83 since 23 April 200826 of 8357 of 8313.5
Primary dealers' share36.0Last 24 auctions24 of 240 of 2450.0
Primary dealers' share36.0All 83 since 23 April 200880 of 833 of 8352.5
High minus median, basis points3.8Last 24 auctions0 of 2424 of 242.0
High minus median, basis points3.8Since 23 April 200820 of 8363 of 832.2
High minus median, basis points3.8All 416 since 23 January 198066 of 416350 of 4162.0

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

Sources

Source: U.S. Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Fiscal Data, Treasury Securities Auctions Data. Observed .

Shares of competitive bids, grades against earlier auctions and the high-minus-median spread are computed by 500metrics from Treasury's published fields; how.

Source: U.S. Treasury, Daily Treasury par yield curve rates. Observed .

How to cite this

U.S. Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Fiscal Data, Treasury Securities Auctions Data, auction of 24 March 2015. Results file: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2015/R_20150324_2.pdf. Compiled by 500metrics, "2-year note auction of 24 March 2015 (new issue)", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/2-year-note/2015-03-24.

Sources and licence

Sources and licence

  • U.S. Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Fiscal Data (source). Licence: Public domain, a work of the US federal government
  • U.S. Treasury, daily par yield curve rates (source). Licence: Public domain, a work of the US federal government

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