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US Treasury Sells $638B in T-Bills; 10-Year Yield Dips After Yen Intervention

economy-finance · 2026-08-09

In the week of August 8, 2026, the US government conducted seven auctions, selling $638 billion in Treasury bills with maturities ranging from one month to one year. Among these auctions, three surpassed $100 billion, while one was just shy at $99 billion. There were no plans for longer-term Treasury notes or bonds. Following the Federal Reserve's July meeting, short-term yields decreased, and long-term yields also dropped after a currency intervention between the US and Japan. The 6-month T-bill auction recorded a high yield of 3.855%, which was a decline of 10 basis points from the prior FOMC auction. By Friday, the 6-month yield stood at 3.96%. The yields for the 10-year and 30-year notes fell to 4.65% and 5.19%, respectively. By the end of July, outstanding Treasury bills totaled $7.0 trillion.

Key facts

  • The US government sold $638 billion in Treasury bills during the week, across seven auctions.
  • Three auctions each sold more than $100 billion, and a fourth sold $99 billion.
  • No auctions for Treasury notes or bonds were scheduled that week.
  • Short-term Treasury yields edged down after the FOMC's no-rate-hike meeting in July.
  • Long-term yields declined after US-Japanese intervention in currency markets, where the US sold euros and bought yen.
  • The 6-month T-bill auction on Monday had a high yield of 3.855% (investment rate 3.986%).
  • The 10-year Treasury yield declined by 10 basis points to 4.65% during the week.
  • The 30-year Treasury yield declined by 8 basis points to 5.19%.
  • T-bills outstanding reached $7.0 trillion by end of July, up $1 trillion year-over-year.
  • Total marketable Treasury securities reached $31.4 trillion, up $2.5 trillion year-over-year.
  • T-bills' share of total marketable securities rose to 22.2%.
  • The author is not a buyer of 10-year maturities at current yields due to inflation concerns.
  • The article mentions that the 10-year yield is a benchmark for mortgage and corporate bond rates.
  • A surge of the 10-year yield above 5% would be concerning for Treasury Secretary Bessent.

Entities

Institutions

  • US Treasury Department
  • Federal Reserve
  • FOMC
  • WOLF STREET

Locations

  • United States
  • Japan

Sources