Rates rise at weekly US Treasury auction

WASHINGTON (AP) — Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's weekly auction.

The Treasury Department auctioned $32 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.125 percent, up from 0.100 percent last week. Another $28 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.160 percent, up from 0.150 percent last week.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,996.84 while a six-month bill sold for $9,991.91. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.127 percent for the three-month bills and 0.162 percent for the six-month bills.

Separately, the Federal Reserve said that its weekly update on the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, would be delayed because government offices in Washington were closed on Monday because of Hurricane Sandy.