Rates Rise at Weekly US Treasury Bill Auction

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday’s auction, with rates on three-month bills rising to the highest level since late December.

The Treasury Department auctioned $28 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.055 percent, up from 0.035 percent last week. Another $20 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.065 percent, up from 0.060 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the highest since three-month bills averaged 0.065 percent on Dec. 30. The six-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.080 percent on Jan. 6.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,998.61 while a six-month bill sold for $9,996.71. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.056 percent for the three-month bills and 0.066 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 0.11 percent last week, unchanged from the previous week.