Rates Rise at Weekly US Treasury Auction

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday’s auction to the highest levels since late August.

The Treasury Department auctioned $35 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.035 percent, up from 0.010 percent last week. Another $30 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.060 percent, up from 0.040 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the highest since three-month bills averaged 0.040 percent on Aug. 26. The six-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.065 percent, also on Aug. 26.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,999.12, while a six-month bill sold for $9,996,97. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.035 percent for the three-month bills and 0.061 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, edged up to 0.11 percent last week, from 0.10 percent the previous week.