Par yield as of October 19, 2026 · official U.S. Treasury data
| Date | Yield | Change |
|---|---|---|
| October 19, 2026 | 5.53% | +6 bp |
| October 16, 2026 | 5.47% | -1 bp |
| October 15, 2026 | 5.48% | -9 bp |
| October 14, 2026 | 5.57% | -3 bp |
| October 13, 2026 | 5.60% | -5 bp |
| October 9, 2026 | 5.65% | +1 bp |
| October 8, 2026 | 5.64% | -7 bp |
| October 7, 2026 | 5.71% | +3 bp |
| October 6, 2026 | 5.68% | -2 bp |
| October 5, 2026 | 5.70% | — |
The 20-year Treasury yield is the curve oddity worth understanding. Treasury stopped issuing 20-year bonds in 1986 and only brought them back in May 2020, and the maturity has never regained a natural home among long-term investors. The result is a yield that frequently sits above the longer 30-year bond.
A normal yield curve rises with maturity, so the 30-year should out-yield the 20-year. In practice the 20-year has often traded at a higher yield since its 2020 reintroduction, producing a visible hump near the long end of the curve. The comparison table on this page shows where the two stand today.
This is not a market error. It is what happens when a security lacks a dedicated buyer base, and it makes the 20-year one of the clearest illustrations available that yields reflect supply and demand for particular bonds — not only macroeconomic expectations.
The institutions that dominate long-dated Treasury demand — pension funds and life insurers — buy duration to match liabilities stretching decades ahead, and the 30-year matches those obligations more precisely. Long-bond index funds and futures contracts are likewise built around the 30-year, concentrating flows there.
The 20-year falls between two well-served stools: too long for the intermediate buyers who anchor around 5 and 10 years, not long enough for the liability-matching crowd. With supply arriving on a regular auction schedule and demand structurally thinner, the price clears lower and the yield sits higher.
Read the 20-year differently from the 10-year. Where the 10-year is a statement about growth and inflation, the 20-year is more often a statement about issuance and appetite for duration. When its yield rises relative to neighboring maturities, the usual explanation is supply pressure or soft auction demand rather than a changed economic outlook.
That makes it a useful early-warning indicator for long-end stress. Watching 20-year auction results — the bid-to-cover ratio, and whether the auction tails — tells you how much appetite exists for long-dated government debt, which matters more as borrowing needs grow.
The extra yield is real compensation, and for a buyer holding to maturity who does not need the precise duration profile of the 30-year, the 20-year can be the better value of the two. Some long-duration ETFs include it deliberately for exactly that reason.
The trade-off is liquidity. The 20-year does not trade with the depth of the 10- or 30-year, so bid-ask spreads are wider and large positions are harder to move quickly. It rewards patient buyers and penalizes anyone who may need to sell in a hurry.
| Maturity | Yield | 1-Day Change | vs 20Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1M | 4.11% | -1 bp | -142 bp |
| 2M | 4.17% | +0 bp | -136 bp |
| 3M | 4.27% | +1 bp | -126 bp |
| 6M | 4.37% | +3 bp | -116 bp |
| 1Y | 4.50% | +4 bp | -103 bp |
| 2Y | 4.77% | +3 bp | -76 bp |
| 3Y | 4.85% | +3 bp | -68 bp |
| 5Y | 4.94% | +5 bp | -59 bp |
| 7Y | 5.04% | +6 bp | -49 bp |
| 10Y | 5.15% | +6 bp | -38 bp |
| 20Y | 5.53% | +6 bp | — |
| 30Y | 5.48% | +5 bp | -5 bp |
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury daily par yield curve — official public-domain U.S. government data, published once per business day. This page is information, not investment advice; see our disclaimer.