Treasury Sells Inflation Notes at Record Low Negative Yield

The U.S. sold $13 billion of 10-year inflation-indexed notes at a record negative yield with investors willing to pay a premium to guard against the threats of rising consumer prices and Europe’s worsening debt crisis.

The Treasury Inflation Protected Securities were sold at a so-called high yield of negative 0.391 percent, the third consecutive auction where investors paid the government to hold their money. TIPS pay interest at lower rates than regular Treasuries on a principal amount that’s adjusted based on the Labor Department’s consumer price index.