Interest Rates Climb in Treasury Bill Auction

The Treasury Department auctioned $16 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 2.88%, up from 2.805% last week. An additional $14 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 3.09%, up from 3.04% last week.

The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors -- 2.941% for three-month bills with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,927.20 and 3.183% for a six-month bill selling for $9,843.78.

In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, edged down to 3.28% last week from 3.32% the previous week.