Treasury rates rise at weekly auction

[June 19, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction with rates on six-month bills going to the highest level in more than a year.

The Treasury Department auctioned $30 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.095 percent, up from 0.085 percent last week. Another $27 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 0.115 percent on Feb. 27. The six-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.170 percent on March 28, 2011.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,997.60 while a six-month bill sold for $9,992.42. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.096 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, was unchanged at 0.18 percent last week, the same as the previous week.

[Associated Press]

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