Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction with rates on six-month bills climbing to their highest level in more than two years.
The Treasury Department auctioned $24 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.055 per cent, up from 0.035 per cent last week. Another $24 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.155 per cent, up from 0.110 per cent last week.
The three-month rate was the highest since three-month bills averaged 0.095 per cent on Feb. 10. The six-month rate was the highest since six-month bills averaged 0.160 per cent on Oct. 29, 2012.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,998.63, while a six-month bill sold for $9,992.21. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.056 per cent for the three-month bills and 0.157 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 0.23 per cent last week from 0.20 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.