Treasury bills rates increase at weekly auction

[April 10, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction with rates on three-month bills climbing to the highest level in three weeks.

The Treasury Department auctioned $31 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.085 percent, up from 0.075 percent last week. Another $29 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.150 percent, up from 0.140 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.095 percent on March 19. The six-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.170 percent on March 28.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,997.85 while a six-month bill sold for $9,992.42. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.086 percent for the three-month bills and 0.152 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, edged up to 0.19 percent last week from 0.18 percent the previous week.

[Associated Press]

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