Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction with rates on six-month bills climbing to the highest level in more than four years.
The Treasury Department auctioned $24 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.075 per cent, up from 0.050 per cent last week. Another $24 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.165 per cent, up from 0.145 per cent last week.
The three-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.095 per cent on Feb. 10, 2014. The six-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.170 per cent on March 28, 2011.
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 $9,991.66. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.076 per cent for the three-month bills and 0.168 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, was 0.33 per cent last week, the same as the previous week.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.