Treasury Bills (T-Bills)
Short-term U.S. government debt securities with maturities from 4 to 52 weeks, sold at a discount and maturing at face value.
What is Treasury Bills (T-Bills)?
Issued weekly via auctions, T-bills have no coupon interest; yield is the difference between purchase price and $1,000 par (e.g., a 4-week bill at 99.6 yields 5.2% annualized). In 2025, outstanding T-bills total $5.5 trillion, with 52-week yields at 4.3% as of October. Minimum purchase is $100, with competitive bids setting rates.
Backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S., they are exempt from state taxes and used as collateral in repos (e.g., $2 trillion daily). During crises, yields drop; in March 2020, 3-month T-bills yielded 0.02%. Investors include money funds holding $3 trillion in T-bills in 2025.
Auction results influence money market rates; a recent 26-week auction cleared at 4.55%, closely tracking the federal funds rate.
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