Rates rise for short-term Treasury bills
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WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in yesterday's auction, with rates on three-month bills climbing to the highest level in a month.
The Treasury Department auctioned $30 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.195 percent, up from 0.135 percent last week. Another $28 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.330 percent, up from 0.305 percent last week.
The three-month rate was the highest since those bills averaged 0.20 percent on April 6. The six-month rate was the highest since 0.37 percent on April 13.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,995.07, while a six-month bill sold for $9,983.32. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.198 percent for the three-month bills, and 0.335 percent for the six-month bills.
Separately, the Federal Reserve said the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, dipped to 0.50 percent last week, from 0.52 percent the previous week.
