Investing.com -- The U.S. government sold $44 billion of 7-year notes on Thursday at a lower-than-expected yield as demand surged to highest since October last year amid strong investor appetite from abroad.
The notes were awarded at 4.162%, below the pre-sale, or when-issue, rate of 4.166%, and well below 4.276% high seen in the prior auction.
In a sign of a stronger demand, the bid to cover ratio for the auction jumped to 2.64 from 2.58 seen in the prior auction, marking the best demand since October last year.
International demand led the bidding, with indirect bidders at 74.38% of the auction, above the 68.3% six-month average, and best print since August since last year. Direct bidders making up domestic buyers including pension funds accounted for 16.76% of the bidding.
The yield on the United States 7-Year yield fell to 4.162%, after trading at highs of the day of about 4.204%.