Rates mixed at weekly US Treasury auction

[May 15, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Interest rates on short-term U.S. Treasury bills were mixed in Monday's auction with rates on six-month bills unchanged and rates on three-month bills rising to the highest level since February.

The Treasury Department auctioned $30 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.095 percent, up from 0.090 percent last week. Another $27 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.145 percent, unchanged from last week.

The three-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.115 percent on Feb. 27.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,997.60 while a six-month bill sold for $9,992.67. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.096 percent for the three-month bills and 0.147 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 down to 0.18 percent last week from 0.19 percent the previous week.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.