T-Bill Rates at Highest in More Than 3 Years

The Treasury Department auctioned $20 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 2.475%. An additional $17 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 2.710%.

The three-month rate was up from 2.320% last week. The six-month rate was up from 2.610% last week.

The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors -- 2.525% for three-month bills with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,937.44 and 2.786% for a six-month bill selling for $9,862.99.

The Federal Reserve also said that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, rose to 2.89% last week from 2.87% the previous week.

From Associated Press

* The cost of funds index for savings institutions in the Federal Home Loan Bank’s 11th District edged up in December to 2.118% from 2.025% in November. The index is a popular benchmark for adjustable-rate mortgages on the West Coast and tends to lag behind changes in market interest rates by several months.