Rates rise at weekly US Treasury bill auction

WASHINGTON (AP) - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction with rates on three-month bills climbing to their highest level since late 2008.

The Treasury Department auctioned $40 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.375 percent, up from 0.335 percent last week. Another $36 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.540 percent, up from 0.470 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the highest since those bills averaged 0.530 percent on Nov. 3, 2008. The six-month rate was the highest since those bills averaged 0.550 percent on Dec. 28.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,990.52, while a six-month bill sold for $9,972.70. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.381 percent for the three-month bills and 0.549 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, fell to 0.57 percent last week from 0.61 percent the previous week.