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7-year note auction of 23 February 2012 (new issue)

The 7-year note sold $29.412 billion at a high yield of 1.418% on , with a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.11.

Coupon
1.375%
Announced
Issued
Matures

High yield

1.418%

Median yield 1.390%

Bid-to-cover

3.11

▲ +0.38 since 26 Jan

Sold

$29.41 billion

$29 billion offered

Indirect bidders

41.8%

Of competitive bids accepted

High yield at the last 36 7-year note auctions

High yield at each 7-year note auction, %

High yield at the last 36 7-year note auctions36 auctions from 26 March 2009 to 23 February 2012; the latest at 1.418%.1.0%2.0%3.0%4.0%2009201020112012This auction, 1.418%High yield at the last 36 7-year note auctions36 auctions from 26 March 2009 to 23 February 2012; the latest at 1.418%.1.0%2.0%3.0%4.0%2010201120121.418%

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 7-year note auctions, newest first
AuctionHigh yield, %Bid-to-cover
1.4183.11
1.3592.73
1.4302.68
1.4153.20
1.7912.59
1.4963.02
1.5802.76
2.2802.63
2.4302.62
2.4293.24
2.7122.63
2.8952.79
2.8542.86
2.7442.85
2.8302.86
2.2532.63
1.9703.06
1.8903.04
1.9892.98
2.3942.78
2.5753.01
2.8152.88
3.2102.82
3.3742.61
3.0782.98
3.1272.85
3.3452.72
2.8352.76
3.1412.65
3.0052.79
3.0922.74
3.3692.63
3.3292.82
3.3002.26
2.6302.28
2.3842.52

Against its own history

Against the previous 12 auctions of the 7-year note
MeasureThis auctionMedianHigherLower
Bid-to-cover ratio3.112.742 of 1210 of 12
High yield1.4182.03610 of 122 of 12
Indirect bidders' share41.840.85 of 127 of 12
Direct bidders' share19.311.70 of 1212 of 12
Primary dealers' share38.945.512 of 120 of 12
High minus median, basis points2.86.111 of 121 of 12

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

  • Direct bidders' share: Highest of all 36 earlier 7-year note auctions we hold.
  • Primary dealers' share: Lowest for a 7-year note since 29 December 2010 (13 auctions in between).

Who bought the 7-year note?

Indirect bidders took 41.8% of the competitive bids accepted

Share of competitive bids accepted, %. Grey: the previous 7-year note auction, 26 January 2012

Indirect bidders took 41.8% of the competitive bids acceptedIndirect bidders 41.8%, Direct bidders 19.3%, Primary dealers 38.9%Indirect bidders41.8%31.8%Direct bidders19.3%11.6%Primary dealers38.9%56.6%Indirect bidders took 41.8% of the competitive bids acceptedIndirect bidders 41.8%, Direct bidders 19.3%, Primary dealers 38.9%Indirect bidders41.8%31.8%Direct bidders19.3%11.6%Primary dealers38.9%56.6%
The shares as a table
Shares of competitive bids accepted, %
BidderThis auctionPrevious
Indirect bidders41.831.8
Direct bidders19.311.6
Primary dealers38.956.6

About these figures

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

Treasury's published result

FieldValue
Offered as7-Year, new issue
Offering amount$29,000,000,000
Bids received$90,611,314,800
Sold$29,411,654,800
Competitive bids accepted$28,980,240,000
Non-competitive bids accepted$19,769,800
Federal Reserve (SOMA) add-on$411,645,000
Foreign and international (FIMA) non-competitive$0
High yield, %1.418
Median rate, %1.390
Low rate, %1.345
Interest rate (coupon), %1.375
Bids at the high rate filled, %31.54
Bid-to-cover ratio3.11
Indirect bidders accepted$12,127,700,000
Direct bidders accepted$5,583,540,000
Primary dealers accepted$11,269,000,000
Indirect bidders' share, % (ours)41.8
Direct bidders' share, % (ours)19.3
Primary dealers' share, % (ours)38.9
High minus median, basis points (ours)2.8
Treasury par yield curve, 7-year point, same day, %1.40
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 (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 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 7-year note auctions: how many were higher and lower, and their median
MeasureThis auctionWindowHigherLowerMedian
Bid-to-cover ratio3.11Last 24 auctions2 of 2422 of 242.84
Bid-to-cover ratio3.11All 36 since 26 February 20092 of 3634 of 362.77
High yield1.418Last 24 auctions22 of 242 of 242.412
High yield1.418Since 26 February 200934 of 362 of 362.728
High yield1.418All 85 since 6 February 198083 of 852 of 857.100
Indirect bidders' share41.8Last 24 auctions16 of 248 of 2444.9
Indirect bidders' share41.8All 36 since 26 February 200924 of 3612 of 3648.5
Direct bidders' share19.3Last 24 auctions0 of 2424 of 249.5
Direct bidders' share19.3All 36 since 26 February 20090 of 3636 of 368.5
Primary dealers' share38.9Last 24 auctions19 of 245 of 2443.4
Primary dealers' share38.9All 36 since 26 February 200924 of 3612 of 3642.3
High minus median, basis points2.8Last 24 auctions22 of 241 of 245.8
High minus median, basis points2.8Since 26 February 200934 of 361 of 366.4
High minus median, basis points2.8All 85 since 6 February 198053 of 8531 of 853.0

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 23 February 2012. Results file: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2012/R_20120223_1.pdf. Compiled by 500metrics, "7-year note auction of 23 February 2012 (new issue)", https://500metrics.com/treasury/auctions/7-year-note/2012-02-23.

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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