Rates rise at weekly US Treasury bill auction, after rising in prior week

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction, after rising last week.

The Treasury Department auctioned $24 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.040 percent, down from 0.055 percent last week. Another $24 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.130 percent, up from 0.155 percent last week. Rising demand at the auctions caused the interest rates to fall to their lowest levels since Dec. 15.

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, while a six-month bill sold for $9,993.46. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.041 percent for the three-month bills and 0.132 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, rose to 0.27 percent last week from 0.23 percent the previous week.