How do treasuries work?

Treasury bonds, notes, and bills are sold through U.S. Treasury auctions on the TreasuryDirect platform. The demand for them helps set the rates and yields during the auctions, which can change based on interest rate changes and other market factors.

What is the difference between treasury bills and treasury notes?

Treasury bills are short-term, zero-coupon bonds that are issued in maturities with lengths of 4, 13 or 26 weeks. Treasury notes are intermediate-term bonds issued by a federal government with maturities of 2, 3, 5 or 10 years. Treasury bonds are long-term, semi-annual coupon bonds issued by a federal government.

What is a treasury?

Treasuries (sometimes spelled "treasurys") refer to all the tradable and negotiable debt obligations issued by a country's government.