Rates rise at weekly US Treasury auction
WASHINGTON (AP) - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction to their highest levels in four weeks.
The Treasury Department auctioned $28 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.250 percent, up from 0.220 percent last week. Another $24 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.400 percent, up from 0.350 percent last week.
The three-month rate was the highest since those bills averaged 0.300 percent four weeks ago on March 28. The six-month rate was the highest since those bills averaged 0.475 percent, also on March 28.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,993.68, while a six-month bill sold for $9,979.78. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.254 percent for the three-month bills and 0.406 percent for the six-month bills.
Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, was unchanged at 0.54 percent last week, the same as the previous week.