The auction for 5-year TIPS maturing in April 2016 closed today. The resulting yield is -0.18%.

Although a negative yield isn't pleasant, the result is actually higher than I expected. Wall Street Journal reports that TIPS maturing in January and July 2016 were yielding -0.40% and -0.29% respectively as of yesterday. You would think the April 2016 maturity would yield somewhere in the middle, -0.35% or so, but the actual result is -0.18%.

Investors who bought at this auction paid a lower price than investors who bought similar notes on the secondary market. They also receive a better deflation protection because the newly issued notes don't have as much accumulated inflation adjustment as the existing notes.

Buying TIPS at auction remains to be a good way to buy TIPS.