WASHINGTON - The interest rate on six-month Treasury bills rose at yesterday’s weekly treasury auction after falling to a record low last week. The rate on three-month bills also rose.
The Treasury Department auctioned $29 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.020 percent, up from 0.010 percent last week. Last week’s level was the lowest since rates averaged 0.005 percent on Dec. 8, 2008, during the financial crisis.
Another $27 billion was auctioned in six-month bills at a discount rate of 0.035 percent, up from 0.030 percent last week. Last week’s rate was the lowest on record.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,999.49, while a six-month bill sold for $9,998.23. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.020 percent for the three-month bills and 0.036 percent for the six-month bills.
Separately, the Federal Reserve said the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, an index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, was unchanged last week from the previous week’s 0.10 percent.
