Data

Treasury Auctions

Every week, the US Treasury asks the world to lend it money. The auction results tell you whether the world said yes, hesitated, or started walking away. Bond desks watch this religiously. Now you can too.

New to auctions? Read our explainer

Last Big Auction

7-Year

F

B/C: 2.42 | Tail: +3.5bp

Is Demand Getting Better or Worse?

→ Stable

30-day benchmark average

Are Foreign Buyers Showing Up?

56.4%

below 6-month avg (63.2%)

Next Key Auction

Check Treasury schedule

The latest 7-Year auction scored a F. Bid-to-cover at 2.42 with a +3.5bp tail. Indirect bidders took 57.2%.

Recent Benchmark Auctions

DateSecurityOfferedB/CYieldTailIndirectDirectDealerGradeTake
Sep 247-Year$44B2.425.085%+3.5bp57.2%30.3%12.5%F
Sep 235-Year$70B2.215.033%+20.3bp54.3%29.9%15.8%F
Sep 222-Year$69B2.634.787%+2.7bp57.8%29.0%13.2%D
Aug 277-Year$44B2.504.512%+0.2bp60.8%27.0%12.3%D
Aug 265-Year$70B2.374.393%+4.3bp61.5%28.4%10.1%D+
Aug 252-Year$69B2.604.204%-3.6bp66.0%23.1%10.9%C+
Aug 1330-Year$25B2.395.216%-2.4bp66.8%21.6%11.5%B
Aug 1210-Year$42B2.534.683%-1.7bp76.7%14.7%8.6%A
Jul 287-Year$44B2.494.473%-4.7bp70.2%16.9%13.0%C-
Jul 272-Year$69B2.664.315%-1.5bp56.6%34.0%9.4%C-
Jul 275-Year$70B2.284.408%-2.2bp59.2%27.2%13.5%F
Jun 257-Year$44B2.504.260%-2.0bp57.5%29.7%12.8%D-
Jun 245-Year$70B2.354.200%-7.0bp61.6%25.5%12.9%C-
Jun 232-Year$69B2.644.189%-5.1bp55.5%34.3%10.2%C-
May 287-Year$44B2.524.290%-3.0bp78.4%11.2%10.4%B-
May 275-Year$70B2.344.182%-0.8bp74.8%12.3%12.8%C
May 262-Year$69B2.644.071%—bp57.5%30.1%12.3%D+
May 1330-Year$25B2.305.046%+1.6bp66.6%21.7%11.7%C
May 1210-Year$42B2.404.468%+4.8bp64.0%24.1%12.0%D+
Apr 287-Year$44B2.514.175%+3.5bp58.4%30.0%11.6%F

Demand Trends

2-Year
5-Year
10-Year
30-Year

Bid-to-Cover Ratio Over Time

Rising bid-to-cover means stronger demand for US debt. Above 2.5x is healthy.

Indirect Bidder Allocation (%) Over Time

Indirect bidders are mostly foreign central banks. Higher is better for US debt demand.

Treasury Auctions for Beginners

The US government spends more money than it collects in taxes. To fund the gap, the Treasury borrows by selling securities (bills, notes, and bonds) at auction. These auctions happen on a fixed schedule, multiple times per week.

Bid-to-cover ratio: how many dollars were bid for every dollar of bonds offered. Think of it like a restaurant on opening night. A ratio of 2.5 means $2.50 of orders for every $1.00 of food. Below 2.0 and tables are going empty.

The tail: the difference between what the market expected to pay and what the Treasury actually had to offer. A negative tail (stop-through) means buyers showed up hungry. A positive tail means the Treasury had to sweeten the deal. It's the surprise factor.

Indirect bidders: mostly foreign central banks and overseas institutions. This is the geopolitical signal. When China, Japan, and European central banks show up strong, it means the world still trusts US debt. When they pull back, the largest holders of American IOUs are quietly diversifying.

We grade every benchmark auction (2-year, 5-year, 7-year, 10-year, 30-year) from A to F based on these metrics compared to recent history. Tail data uses FRED prior-day closing yields as a proxy for when-issued levels.