US Treasury bills mixed at weekly auction with 6-month bills rising to highest in 2 months

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in Monday's auction with rates on six-month bills climbing to the highest level since January while rates on three-month bills were unchanged.

The Treasury Department auctioned $26 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.015 percent, the same as last week. Another $26 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.095 percent, up from 0.075 percent last week.

The six-month rate was at the highest level since it averaged 0.110 percent on Jan. 5.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,999.62 while a six-month bill sold for $9,995.20. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.015 percent for the three-month bills and 0.097 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 0.25 percent last week from 0.22 percent the previous week.