WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction for the first time in three weeks.
The Treasury Department auctioned $24 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.150 percent, up from 0.145 percent last week. Another $25 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.240 percent, up from 0.220 percent last week.
The three-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.155 percent on April 12. The six-month rate was the highest since 0.265 percent on April 5.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,996.21 while a six-month bill sold for $9,987.87. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.152 percent for the three-month bills and 0.244 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, was unchanged at 0.44 percent last week.
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