Treasury Auction Demand Shrinks Primary Dealers’ Share

The share of Treasuries won at auction this week by the banks and investment firms that underwrite U.S. debt sales headed toward a record annual low as investors sought a haven in the world’s safest securities.

The auction award to indirect bidders, an investor class that includes foreign central banks, was the biggest since August 2011 at yesterday’s offering of $29 billion of seven-year debt. Direct bidders, a category that includes pension funds and insurers, took the second-highest share in almost a year of the $35 billion sale of five-year notes on April 23. The Federal Reserve meets next week, and the Labor Department issues its monthly employment report.