US treasuries sold with lowest ever yield at auction

Ten-year US Treasury bonds were sold at a record low yield at auction yesterday, as fears that the US economic recovery is fading mounted.

In the $21bn sale, carried out before the Federal Reserve published minutes for its June meeting, 10-year paper was sold with a yield of 1.459%, the lowest ever seen at auction. It smashed the previous record low at auction of 1.622% set last month. The sale attracted huge demand, with a bid to cover ratio of 3.61, the highest since April 2010. This compared with 3.06 in June and an average of 3.07 for the past 10 sales. Demand for Treasuries was insatiable amid panic over the outlook for the US economy, and with fears growing of a new downturn. The Fed's minutes showed the boar...