Wednesday, 11 November 2015 00:34
NEW YORK: The US Treasury Department on Tuesday sold $ 12 billion of one-year bills at an interest rate of 0.500 percent, which was the highest level at an auction in 6-1/2 years, Treasury data showed.
T-bill interest rates have risen in recent days on expectations the Treasury will flood the market in the coming weeks with supply to replenish its coffer that was depleted during the most recent debt ceiling debate.
T-bill rates have also climbed on bets the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its policy meeting in December.
The ratio of bids to the amount was 4.03, down from 4.12 at the prior auction in October but still above its recent average.
The Treasury also sold $ 52 billion in one-month bills at an interest rate of 0.075 percent, which was the highest rate in three weeks.
The size of the latest one-month bill offering was the largest on record.
The bid-to-cover ratio at the latest one-month T-bill sale was 3.34, which was the lowest since an auction held Aug. 25.
