A batch of $16 billion in freshly issued 20-year Treasury bonds saw strong demand on Monday, pushing Treasury prices higher. Investors paid a slight premium, as the yield on bonds purchased at the auction was 0.9 basis point lower than what investors had been paying in the secondary market, according to an analysis of Treasury Department data by Ben Jeffrey, a rates strategist at BMO. The bid-to-cover ratio, another measure of demand, came in at 2.58, compared with an average of 2.52. Another sign of a healthy auction was that dealers were left with a smaller-than-average haul, as demand from direct and indirect bidders…
