NEW YORK: The US Treasury Department on Tuesday sold $15 billion of one-month bills to solid demand as it has reduced the supply of this short-dated debt maturity in advance of a possible reinstatement of the federal debt ceiling on March 15.

The ratio of bids to the amount of one-month bills offered , which is a measure of auction demand, was 3.81, down from 3.96 at the prior auction last week but higher than its recent average.

The latest one-month T-bill was sold at an interest rate of 0.570 percent, the highest since October 2008.

A week ago, the Treasury sold $18 billion worth of one-month debt at an interest rate of 0.40 percent.