Interest rates on 3- and 6-month Treasury securities rise

WASHINGTON -- Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities rose in yesterday's auction.

The Treasury Department sold $19 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 2.225 percent, up from 2.180 percent last week. An additional $17 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 2.560 percent, up from 2.465 percent.

The three-month rate was the highest since Oct. 10, 2001, when the bills sold for 2.320 percent. The six-month rate was the highest since Sept. 17, 2001, when the rate was 2.570 percent.

The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors -- 2.269 percent for three-month bills with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,943.76 and 2.630 percent for a six-month bill selling for $9,870.58.

In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said yesterday that the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, rose to 2.71 percent last week from 2.66 percent the previous week.