WASHINGTON (AP) -- Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction to the highest levels since December.
The Treasury Department auctioned $35 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.085 percent, up from 0.07 percent last week. Another $30 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.12 percent, up from 0.11 percent last week.
The three-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.09 percent on Dec. 10. The six-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.13 percent on Dec. 26.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,997.85 while a six-month bill sold for $9,993.93. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.086 percent for the three-month bills and 0.122 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 unchanged last week at 0.15 percent, the same as the previous week.
