Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in Tuesday's auction with rates on three-month bills declining and rates on six-month bills rising to their highest level in six years.
The Treasury Department auctioned $22 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.075 per cent, down from 0.095 per cent last week. Another $22 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.275 per cent, up from 0.270 per cent last week.
The three-month rate was the lowest since three-month bills averaged 0.050 per cent two weeks ago on Aug. 24. The six-month rate was the highest since those bills averaged 0.285 per cent on Aug. 10, 2009.
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 $9,986.10. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.076 per cent for the three-month bills and 0.280 per cent for the six-month bills.
The weekly auction of three-month and six-month bills, normally held on Monday, was held on Tuesday this week because of the Labor Day holiday.
Separately, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, edged up to 0.37 per cent last week from 0.36 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.