Bond quote

A bond quote is the most recent price at which a bond traded, converted to a point scale and expressed as a percentage of par value. Par value is often fixed at 100, or 100% of a bond’s $1,000 face value. If a corporate bond is priced at 99, for instance, it is now trading at 99% of its face value. In this instance, each bond costs $990 to purchase. The most recent price at which a bond traded is referred to as a bond quote.

Bond quotes are converted to a point system and given as a percentage of par (face value).

The standard par value is 100, which equals 100% of a bond’s $1,000 face value.

Bond price quotes are expressed as a percentage of the par value, which is then converted to a number and multiplied by 10 to get the price per bond. Quotes for bonds can also be written as fractions.

Corporate bonds, for instance, are quoted in 1/8ths, but government bills, notes, and bonds are quoted in 1/32ths. A bond quote of 99 1/4 thus reflects 99.25% of par. The price per bond comes to $992.5 after converting the percentage to 99.25 and increasing by 10. Bonds may be quoted with a yield to maturity in addition to a percentage of par value (YTM).