Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction, with rates on three-month bills dropping to their lowest level since late 2011.
The Treasury Department auctioned $24 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.010 per cent, down from 0.015 per cent last week. Another $24 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.070 per cent, down from 0.085 per cent last week.
The three-month rate was the lowest since three-month bills averaged 0.005 per cent on Dec. 19, 2011. The six-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.065 per cent on Feb. 23.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,999.75, while a six-month bill sold for $9,996.46. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.010 per cent for the three-month bills and 0.071 per cent 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, rose to 0.26 per cent last week from 0.23 per cent the previous week.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.