Rates rise at weekly Treasury auction

[August 14, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction, with rates on three-month bills advancing to the highest level since late February.

The Treasury Department auctioned $32 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.110 percent, up from 0.100 percent last week. Another $28 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.145 percent, up from 0.135 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the highest since three-month bills averaged 0.115 on Feb. 27. The six-month rate was the highest since those bills averaged 0.150 on July 2.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,997.21 while a six-month bill sold for $9,992.66. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.112 percent for the three-month bills and 0.147 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 0.18 percent last week, up from 0.17 percent the previous week.

[Associated Press]

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