The rate on the 3-month Treasury bill touched an almost 17-year high on Tuesday amid continuing debt-ceiling worries. The short-dated yield jumped 20.2 basis points to 5.253% from Monday’s close of 5.051% as of 9:20 a.m. Eastern time, according to Tradeweb. That’s the highest level since July 2006. Tom Graff, head of investments at Baltimore-based Facet Wealth, said the move came as the result of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s statement that the U.S. could default on debt as soon as June 1 if Congress doesn’t increase the borrowing limit. Her comment “makes investors nervous about owning around that date, and I think we are going to see more volatility before we see less,” Graff said via phone. Still, he said, many are assuming the debt-ceiling issue will ultimately get resolved.
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