NEW YORK: The US Treasury Department on Thursday sold $12 billion of 30-year government bonds to solid investor demand following back-to-back debt auctions that fell short of expectations.
The ratio of bids to the 30-year issue offered was 2.33, which was the strongest in three auctions. This gauge of overall auction demand at the prior 30-year auction in February was 2.09.
The latest 30-year bond supply was sold at a yield of 2.720 percent, up from 2.500 percent in February, but it was about 1 basis point lower than what traders had expected.
Firm demand for the 30-year issue revived demand for Treasuries on the open market, pushing longer-dated yields off their session highs.
The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was 2.708 percent, up 2.5 basis points on the day.
The 30-year auction soothed investor worries about Treasury demand in the wake of disappointing demand at Tuesday's $24 billion in three-year notes and Wednesday's $20 billion in 10-year notes.
Investment managers, foreign central banks and other indirect bidders bought 60.95 percent of the 30-year supply, which is the first reopening of the bond originally sold in February. This was their biggest share in three months.
Small bond dealers and other direct bidders purchased 12.01 percent, up from 10.25 percent in February and their largest stake since October.
Primary dealers or the top 22 Wall Street firms that do business directly with the Federal Reserve bought 27.04 percent, smaller than February's 31.73 percent. It was their smallest share since December.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.