Econoday Report: 5-Year Note Auction 9, 2005

2005 U.S. Economic Events & Analysis

Resource Center » U.S. & International Recaps | Release Dates | Why Investors Care | Today's Calendar

5-Year Note Auction

Definition
Treasury notes are sold at regularly scheduled public auctions. The competitive bids at these auctions determine the interest rate paid on each Treasury note issue. Twenty-two primary dealers (as of August 2004) are authorized and obligated to submit competitive tenders at Treasury auctions. Dealers can hold, resell, or trade the securities with other firms. The Treasury announces the amount, date and time of the 5-year note auction monthly. Eight times a year, the 5-year notes are announced around the second week of the month (usually on Monday) and then auctioned two days later. In February, May, August and November, they are announced on the first Wednesday of the month and auctioned during the second week of the month (usually on Wednesday). In all cases, the 5-year notes are issued (settled) on the 15th of the month, unless it falls on a weekend or holiday, and then they are issued on the next business day. Why Investors Care

Yield Awarded

4.525 %

Highlights
The U.S. Treasury auctioned $13 billion of 5 year notes with a coupon rate of 4.5 percent and a high yield of 4.525 percent. This is just about in the middle of what Treasury investors were expecting for this auction. Demand for this issue was not quite as strong as last month, judging by the lower bid-to-cover ratio. However, at 2.61, the bid-to-cover ratio was higher than the long term average. The high yield is 30 basis points higher than last month -- but just about in line with the 25 basis point rate hike in the federal funds rate target.

Trends

This chart reflects the monthly average yields for 5-year notes in the secondary market. These could be at slight odds with the auction averages in the primary market.

Data Source: Haver Analytics

2005 Release Schedule

Released On: 1/12 2/9 3/9 4/13 5/11 6/8 7/13 8/10 9/7 10/12 11/9 12/7

Released For: Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Oct Oct Nov