Rates drop at weekly Treasury bill auction

[March 06, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction with rates on three-month bills dropping to their lowest level in five weeks.

The Treasury Department auctioned $33 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.08 percent, down from 0.115 percent last week. Another $31 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.13 percent, down from 0.145 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.05 percent on Jan. 30. The six-month rate was the lowest since six-month bills averaged 0.125 percent on Feb. 21.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,997.98 while a six-month bill sold for $9,993.43. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.081 percent for the three-month bills and 0.132 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, edged up to 0.18 percent last week from 0.17 percent the previous week.

[Associated Press]

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