Primary Dealers' Holding of Treasury

The holdings of Treasury securities maturing in more than 11 years among primary dealers rose to $8.3 billion in the week ended Jan. 14, according to the U.S. central bank. The level is near the $8.7 billion reached at the end of 2008, which was the highest since reaching $9.6 billion in the week ended Sept. 25, 2002. “The high level of inventory in coupons suggests a very grim backdrop,” UBS Securities LLC strategists led by Chris Ahrens wrote in a note to clients today. “We suspect that counterparties looking to sell positions into this capital-constrained universe are finding that dealers are not willing to bid aggressively to add to already-burgeoning positions.”