Germany sells EUR 1.931bln vs exp. EUR 2.5bln 3.40% 2047 and 2.90% 2056 Bunds

• EUR 0.853bln 3.40% 2047: b/c 1.8x (prev. 2.50x), average yield 3.65% (prev. 3.80%), retention 14.70% (prev. 23.9%)
• EUR 1.078bln 2.90% 2056: b/c 1.3x (prev. 1.40x), average yield 3.66% (prev. 3.80%), retention 28.3% (prev. 25.3%)

Ultra-long Bund supply in the 30-year sector tests the same narrow buyer base every time: domestic insurers and pension funds with liability-matching mandates, and their appetite is what the bid-to-cover and retention lines are read for. A combined take-up short of target with cover ratios slipping from the previous taps and retention still elevated points to subdued end-demand rather than a quota artefact; high retention in German auctions historically reads as the debt agency warehousing unsold paper with dealers, a soft-demand tell that has tended to steepen the long end of the curve when repeated. The case distinction that matters is between the two lines: the shorter-dated 2047 tranche drawing firmer cover than the freshly long 2056 line fits the recurring pattern of demand thinning as duration extends, which is where curve steepeners and swap-spread widening in the ultra-long sector have typically originated. Lower average yields than the prior taps sit against the weaker cover, consistent with a falling-rate backdrop doing the work rather than genuine sponsorship. Follow-ons of note are the next ultra-long taps from core issuers and whether German swap spreads at the 30-year point continue to underperform, as persistent weak cover in this maturity bucket has in past episodes bled into broader EGB long-end concessions.