Rates fall at weekly Treasury auction

[August 07, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction with rates on six-month bills declining to the lowest level since early June.

The Treasury Department auctioned $32 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.100 percent, down from 0.110 percent last week. Another $28 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.135 percent, down from 0.145 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the lowest since three-month bills averaged 0.095 on July 23. The six-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.130 on June 4.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,997.47 while a six-month bill sold for $9,993.17. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.101 percent for the three-month bills and 0.137 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 0.17 percent last week, unchanged from the previous week.

[Associated Press]

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