A U.S. Treasury auction of short-term debt Wednesday showed signs of resilient demand, as a global government debt selloff eased.

The Treasury's weekly auction sold $76.6 billion in 17-week bills, with a high yield of 3.750%, down from 3.755% in the Aug. 12 tender.

Wednesday's high-yield compared to a market yield of 3.846% at the time, according to LSEG, in a sign of strong demand.

The bid-to-cover ratio, a measure of investor demand, was 3.35, higher than the prior six-month average of 3.05.

In contrast, investors are demanding a much higher yield for long-term debt.

In the most recent 30-year Treasury bond auction last week, the high yield cleared at 5.216%, the highest since 2001. Long-term yields dropped Wednesday, after the Treasury Department said it will increase longer-term bond buybacks to support liquidity.