Rates Rise at Weekly U.S. Treasury Auction

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday’s auction, with rates on six-month bills climbing to the highest level in more than four years.

The Treasury Department auctioned $24 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.075 percent, up from 0.050 percent last week. Another $24 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.165 percent, up from 0.145 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.095 percent on Feb. 10, 2014. The six-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.170 percent on March 28, 2011.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,998.10 while a six-month bill sold for $9,991.66. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.076 percent for the three-month bills and 0.168 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 0.33 percent last week, the same as the previous week.