Rates on Treasury bills fall at weekly auction

[November 01, 2011]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction with rates on three-month bills dropping to the lowest level since the financial crisis in December 2008.

The Treasury Department auctioned $29 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.01 percent, down from 0.02 percent last week. Another $27 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.055 percent, down from 0.06 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the lowest since three-month bills averaged 0.005 percent on Dec. 8, 2008. The six-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.045 percent on Oct. 11.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,999.75 while a six-month bill sold for $9,997.22. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.01 percent for the three-month bills and 0.056 percent for the six-month bills.

Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, was unchanged at 0.12 percent last week, the same as the previous week.

[Associated Press]

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