Treasury posts a results statement after each auction. This page walks through the fields on that statement and on YieldDocket term pages, so you can read a result without mixing up yield, discount and investment rate.
The dates
Three dates matter on every result:
- Announcement date. Treasury publishes the offering amount, term and CUSIP.
- Auction date. Competitive and non-competitive bids are taken, and the high yield (or high discount rate on bills) is set.
- Issue date. The security is issued and payment is due. For many bills this is a few days after the auction.
The auction calendar lists those dates as Treasury announces them.
New issue or reopening
A new issue creates a new CUSIP, coupon (for notes and bonds) and maturity. A reopening offers an additional amount of a security that is already outstanding, under the same CUSIP and maturity. The yield is set at the new auction. See what a Treasury reopening is.
The rate fields
- High yield on notes and bonds is the yield at which the auction stops, often called the stop-out yield. That is the rate awarded to competitive bidders at the high yield, and it is the figure we show as the headline rate on those term pages.
- High discount rate on bills is the discount from face value, on a 360-day basis.
- High investment rate on bills is the bond-equivalent yield, on a 365-day basis. YieldDocket uses this as the headline rate on bill pages so a 13-week bill can be compared with a 3-month CD or a coupon note. The T-bill calculator turns a price into both figures.
- Interest rate on a new note or bond is the coupon, set at the auction. On a reopening, the coupon is already fixed from the original issue.
Bid-to-cover and size
Offering amount is how much Treasury offered at that auction. Bid-to-cover is total bids divided by that offering amount. Neither figure is a forecast of the next auction. This week's recap puts them in one table on this week on the Docket.
CUSIP and term
The CUSIP identifies the exact security. The stated term (for example 10-Year or 13-Week) is the original tenor. A reopening of a 10-year note that has already been outstanding for two months may be described as a 9-year 10-month security; it is still the same CUSIP. The glossary defines those labels.
Where to read more
- This week's auction board
- Auction results hub, with a page for each term and a link to the TreasuryDirect results PDF
- How the secondary market works after a security is issued
Research tools
To follow yields, funds and your own holdings in one place, Stock Rover offers research and portfolio tools.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the discount rate and the investment rate on a bill?
The discount rate is the discount from face value, expressed as an annual rate on a 360-day basis. The investment rate, also called the bond-equivalent yield, annualizes the same return on a 365-day basis so it can be compared with notes, bonds and coupon-bearing yields.
What does bid-to-cover tell you?
It is the total amount bid divided by the amount Treasury offered. A higher ratio means more bids were placed relative to the size of the auction. It is a measure of demand at that auction, not a forecast.
Where can I read the official write-up?
Each auction's TreasuryDirect results PDF is linked from the term page and from the auction board. Those PDFs are the official source for the figures we display.
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