Solid 5Y Auction Stops Through With Yields At 6 Month High

After yesterday's stunner of a 2Y auction, with most trading desks vacant and manned by interns on Christmas Eve even as yields blow out to 6 month highs, moments ago the US Treasury auctioned off its second to last Treasury coupon for 2024 when it sold $70 billion in 5 Year paper in a solid if hardly spectacular auction.

The sale priced at a high yield of 4.478%, up from 4.197% in November and the highest since May. However, thanks to the sharp concession, the bond stop through the When Issued 4.480% by 0.2bps, the second consecutive through and followed 4 straight tails.

The Bid to Cover was 2.40, down from last month's 2.43%, and right on top of the six-auction average.

The internals were also good, with Indirects rising from November's 64.1% to 67.3%, which however was just below the six-auction average of 69.6%. And with Directs awarded 20.3%, or higher than the six-auction average, Dealers were left holding 12.5% of the auction, also in line with the six-auction average of 12.9%.

Overall, this was a solid if hardly stellar auction, and one which managed to briefly push yields across the curve lower by about 1bps, which however wasn't much since the 10Y is trading at 4.62%, the highest since May and dangerously close to levels which will spark a global risk-off cascade.