U.S. 30-year auction clears at 5.216%, highest cost since 2001

The U.S. Treasury’s $25B 30-year bond auction cleared at a 5.216% high yield on Aug. 13, the highest long-bond auction yield since August 2001. The result raised the government’s cost of locking in funding through 2056 even as bidding remained broad.

The TreasuryDirect auction result lists a 5.125% coupon, a 98.627017 price, a 5.150% median yield and a 4.880% low yield. The CUSIP is 912810UW6 and the issue date is Aug. 17, 2026.

Demand totaled $59.7B

Competitive tenders reached $59.705603B and $24.904608B was accepted. Another $95.4073M was taken through noncompetitive bids, bringing the public offering close to the announced $25B.

The bid-to-cover ratio was 2.39, compared with 2.44 at the prior month’s 30-year auction. Indirect bidders received $16.647723B, direct bidders $5.39015B and primary dealers $2.866735B of competitive awards. The distribution indicates that the record borrowing cost did not coincide with a collapse in participation.

Why 5.216% matters

The Financial Times identified the stop-out yield as the highest since the 5.52% paid in August 2001, before 30-year auctions were suspended for almost five years. Compared with July’s 5.058% auction yield, the August result was 15.8 basis points higher.

A higher long-bond yield affects more than the Treasury’s interest bill. Thirty-year yields feed into duration pricing, pension-liability discount rates and parts of the mortgage and corporate-credit markets. The auction therefore provides a primary-market measure of how much compensation investors require to hold U.S. fiscal and inflation risk for three decades.

The result should not be read as failed demand: the 2.39 coverage ratio and the $16.65B indirect award show meaningful participation. The material change is the price of that demand. Buyers required a coupon above 5% and a yield of 5.216% to absorb the new supply.

Next, markets will compare secondary trading in CUSIP 912810UW6 with the auction level and watch upcoming Treasury refunding guidance. A sustained yield above 5% would keep long-duration financing conditions restrictive even if short-term policy rates later decline.

Not investment advice. Verify all figures with primary sources before acting.