General Auction Timing — TreasuryDirect (2024)

The following is the current pattern of financing for marketable U. S. Treasury bills, notes, bonds, FRNs and TIPS. Treasury borrowing requirements, financing policy decisions, and the timing of Congressional action on the debt limit could alter or delay the pattern.

  1. Treasury Bills

    • 4-week and 8-week bills are offered each week. Except for holidays or special circ*mstances, the offering is announced on Tuesday, the bills are auctioned on Thursday, and they are issued on the following Tuesday.
    • 13-week and 26-week bills are offered each week. Except for holidays or special circ*mstances, the offering is announced on Thursday, the bills are auctioned the following Monday, and they are issued on the Thursday following the auction.
    • 17-week bills are offered each week. Except for holidays or special circ*mstances, the offering is announced on Tuesday, the bills are auctioned on Wednesday, and they are issued on the following Tuesday.
    • 52-week bills are offered every four weeks. Except for holidays or special circ*mstances, the offering is announced on Thursday, the bills are auctioned the following Tuesday, and they are issued on the Thursday following the auction.
    • Cash Management bills are offered from time to time, depending on borrowing needs. The time between announcement, auction, and issue is usually brief (1-7 days).
  2. Treasury Notes

    • 2-year note auctions are usually announced in the second half of the month and generally auctioned a few business days later. They are issued on the last day of the month. If the last day of the month is a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the securities are issued on the first business day of the following month.
    • 3-year note auctions are usually announced in the first half of the month and generally auctioned a few business days later. They are issued on the 15th of the month. If the 15th falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the securities are issued on the next business day.
    • 5-year note auctions are usually announced in the second half of each month and generally auctioned a few business days later. They are issued on the last day of the month. If the last day of the month is a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the securities are issued on the first business day of the following month.
    • 7-year note auctions are usually announced in the second half of each month and generally auctioned a few business days later. They are issued on the last day of the month. If the last day of the month is a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the securities are issued on the first business day of the following month.
    • 10-year note auctions are usually announced in the first half of February, May, August, and November. The reopenings of a 10-year note are usually announced in the first half of January, March, April, June, July, September, October, and December. All 10-year notes are generally auctioned during the second week of the above-mentioned months and are issued on the 15th of the same month. If the 15th falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the securities are issued on the next business day.
  3. Treasury Bonds

    • 20-year bond and 30-year bond auctions are usually announced in the first half of February, May, August, and November. The reopenings of a 20-year or 30-year bond are usually announced in the first half of January, March, April, June, July, September, October, and December.
    • All 20-year bonds are generally auctioned on the next to last Wednesday of the above-mentioned months and are issued on the last calendar day of the month or the first business day thereafter. If the last calendar day of the month falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the securities are issued on the next business day.
    • All 30-year bonds are generally auctioned during the second week of the above-mentioned months and are issued on the 15th of the same month. If the 15th falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the securities are issued on the next business day.
  4. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS)

    • 5-year TIPS are usually announced mid-month in April and October. The reopenings of 5-year TIPS are usually announced mid-month in June and December (beginning in 2019). All 5-year TIPS are generally auctioned on the next to last Thursday of the above-mentioned months and are issued on the last business day of the month. However, these TIPS will continue to have a mid-month maturity date. Therefore, investors who purchase these securities at auction will be required to pay the interest accrued between the 15th of the month and the issue date.
    • 10-year TIPS are usually announced mid-month in January and July. The reopenings of 10-year TIPS are usually announced mid-month in March, May, September and November. All 10-year TIPS are generally auctioned on the next to last Thursday of the above-mentioned months and are issued on the last business day of the month. However, these TIPS will continue to have a mid-month maturity date. Therefore, investors who purchase these securities at auction will be required to pay the interest accrued between the 15th of the month and the issue date.
    • 30-year TIPS are usually announced mid-month in February. The reopenings of 30-year TIPS are usually announced mid-month in August. All 30-year TIPS are generally auctioned the next to last Thursday of the above-mentioned months and are issued on the last business day of the month. However, these TIPS will continue to have a mid-month maturity date. Therefore, investors who purchase these securities at auction will be required to pay the interest accrued between the 15th of the month and the issue date.
  5. Treasury Floating Rate Note (FRN)

    • 2-year FRN auctions are usually announced in the second half of January, April, July, and October. The reopenings of a 2-year FRN are usually announced in the second half of February, March, May, June, August, September, November and December. All 2-year FRNs are generally auctioned during the last week of the above-mentioned months. Original issue FRNs are issued on the last day of the month. If the last day of the month is a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the securities are issued on the first business day of the following month. The reopenings are issued on the last Friday of the month.
General Auction Timing — TreasuryDirect (2024)

FAQs

How to understand Treasury auction results? ›

The auction prices show how much the buyers paid for the bonds compared to the market price before the auction ended (the “snap price”). If the buyers paid more than the snap price, they overbid. If they paid less, they underbid. Overbidding means high demand and underbidding means low demand for the bonds.

What time of day are treasury bill auctions? ›

Auction Structure

4 Noncompetitive bids are limited to $5 million and are usually due before 12:00 noon (ET) on the day of an auction. 5 Competitive bidding usually closes at 1:00 p.m. The Treasury conducts note auctions in a “single-price” for- mat.

How long does TreasuryDirect take to process? ›

You just bought a security from the U.S. Treasury. Securities are generally issued to your account within two business days of the purchase date for savings bonds or within one week of the auction date for Bills, Notes, Bonds, FRNs, and TIPS.

How does the auction for US Treasury bills work? ›

You can bid for a bill in two ways: With a noncompetitive bid, you agree to accept the discount rate determined at auction. With this bid, you are guaranteed to receive the bill you want, and in the full amount you want. With a competitive bid, you specify the discount rate you are willing to accept.

Is it better to buy Treasuries at auction or on secondary market? ›

For many people, TreasuryDirect is a good option; however, retirement savers and investors who already have brokerage accounts are often better off buying bonds on the secondary market or with exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Treasury money market accounts also offer more convenience and liquidity than TreasuryDirect.

What is a good bid to cover ratio? ›

A successful auction is one in which the bid-to-cover ratio substantially exceeds the average of the previous 12 auctions for that security type. On the other hand, a low ratio is an indication of a disappointing auction. Bid-to-cover ratios typically exceed 2.0, especially for shorter-term securities.

What is the difference between auction date and issue date? ›

The auction date is the date on which investors bid for the security and the issue date is when the securities are paid for and issued to the security holders.

What does C of I mean in TreasuryDirect? ›

The Zero-Percent Certificate of Indebtedness (Zero-Percent C of I or simply, C of I) is a Treasury security that does not earn any interest. It is intended to be used as a source of funds for purchasing traditional Treasury securities.

How much is a $100 savings bond worth after 20 years? ›

How to get the most value from your savings bonds
Face ValuePurchase Amount20-Year Value (Purchased May 2000)
$50 Bond$100$109.52
$100 Bond$200$219.04
$500 Bond$400$547.60
$1,000 Bond$800$1,095.20

Can a Treasury auction fail? ›

"It's really not a question of what the interest rate is going to be, but at some point people will recognize, at no interest rate will they be willing to accept further government debt issues," Calomiris said. "At that point you have some kind of failure of the bond auction."

What is the Treasury auction scandal? ›

Previously, Salomon had admitted illegally purchasing more than its allowed share of 35 percent at several Treasury auctions by submitting bids in customers' names without their approval. In addition, the firm said it had mistakenly purchased $1 billion worth of the securities as the result of a practical joke.

How much will I make on a 3 month treasury bill? ›

3 Month Treasury Bill Rate is at 5.26%, compared to 5.25% the previous market day and 5.23% last year. This is higher than the long term average of 4.19%. The 3 Month Treasury Bill Rate is the yield received for investing in a government issued treasury security that has a maturity of 3 months.

How to read a Treasury offering announcement? ›

The announcement includes information such as the auction date, issue date, amount of security that will be sold, bidding close times, participation eligibility and more. All auctions are open to the public through Treasury Direct or the Treasury Automated Auction Processing System (TAAPS).

How do you read a Treasury yield chart? ›

The yield curve has three shapes: upward-sloping, or positive, downward-sloping, or inverted, and flat. A positive, upward-sloping yield curve occurs when yields of shorter maturities are lower than yields of longer maturities.

How do you read a Treasury bill quote? ›

Remember - Treasury bills are quoted in yield form, not with prices. Yields are inversely related to prices - the lower the yield, the higher the price, and vice versa. Therefore, a yield of 3.2% will represent a lower-priced T-bill than one with a yield of 3.1%.

How to know if a T-bill is successful? ›

For individual investors, if your application for the T-bills was successful, the T-bills holding will be reflected in your respective accounts after the issuance date. For cash applications: You can check your CDP notification statement via CDP Internet after 6pm on issuance date.

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