Reading an auction result: what the amount bid, the amount accepted and the pro-rata ratio meanHow to read the result of the auction when the government borrows money
Japanese government bonds are sold by the Ministry of Finance through competitive auctions. In the auction held on November 2, 2026 for the 5-Year Climate Transition Interest-Bearing JGB (No. 6), the amount bid was JPY 959.9 billion and the amount accepted was JPY 249.8 billion. The amount bid is the total of all bids; the amount accepted is what was actually issued. Dividing one by the other shows how many times the issue was covered by bids: about 3.84 times.
- Amount bid (total of all bids)
- JPY 959.9 billion
- Divided by the amount accepted (actually issued)
- JPY 249.8 billion
- Cover ratio
- About 3.84 times
Key points
- The amount bid (JPY 959.9 billion) is the total of bids submitted; the amount accepted (JPY 249.8 billion) is what was actually issued
- Dividing the amount bid by the amount accepted gives a rough cover ratio: 959.9 divided by 249.8 is about 3.84 times
- For this issue the coupon rate is 2.2 percent per year, the highest accepted yield is 2.200 percent, and the issue price is JPY 100.00 per JPY 100 of face value
- The pro-rata allotment ratio at the highest accepted yield, 35.2066 percent, means that only that share of the bids queued at the highest accepted yield was taken up
- The issue date is November 4, 2026 and the maturity date is September 20, 2031 (Reiwa 13)
What to do in practice
- When reading an auction result, look at both the amount bid and the amount accepted to see how many times the issue was covered
- Look at the issue price and the coupon rate together with the yield, so that you can see on what terms the bond was issued
To borrow money, the government sells certificates called government bonds. The way they are sold is an auction, rather like bidding at a sale. In the auction on November 2, bids to buy came to JPY 959.9 billion in total, while the amount actually sold was JPY 249.8 billion. That means there were about 3.8 times as many bids as there were bonds to sell. When too many bids line up on the same terms, there is a rule to share them out in proportion, and this time only about 35 percent of those bids got through.
Points
- The bids came to JPY 959.9 billion in total, and the amount actually sold was JPY 249.8 billion
- There were about 3.8 times as many bids as bonds sold, from 959.9 divided by 249.8
- When too many bids line up on the same terms they are shared out in proportion, and this time about 35 percent got through
What the words mean
- auction
- a way of deciding who buys by having people submit the price they are willing to pay
- pro-rata sharing
- splitting something by the same proportion when there is not enough to go round
- Ministry of Finance: Ministry of Finance: Auction result for the 5-Year Climate Transition Interest-Bearing JGB (No. 6)
Economic news presents published statistics and outlooks. It is not investment solicitation or trading advice. Figures are as of publication and may be revised.
This article summarizes and explains materials published by government agencies and is not advice on any individual case. Rules can change, so for actual procedures and decisions always check the latest original materials and consult professionals such as tax accountants or labor and social security attorneys. English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese versions are translations prepared from the Japanese articles for convenience. If anything differs, the Japanese text and the original source take precedence.