The auctions that rattled the market
Late March 2026 delivered a string of underwhelming auction results across three key maturities. A $69 billion sale of 2-year notes produced a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.44, well below the recent average of roughly 2.62. Auctions of $70 billion in 5-year notes and $44 billion in 7-year notes told a similar story of tepid demand.
Primary dealers absorbed about 24% of the 2-year auction. The historical average sits around 11%.
The 10-year Treasury yield climbed from approximately 4.0% at the end of February 2026 to north of 4.4% by late March.
Holding the line, for now
