Rates fall at weekly US Treasury auction

[March 05, 2013]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction with rates on six-month bills dropping to the lowest point in four weeks.

The Treasury Department auctioned $35 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.110 percent, down from 0.125 percent last week. Another $30 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.120 percent, down from 0.135 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the lowest since three-month bills averaged 0.085 percent on Feb. 11. The six-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.110 percent on Feb. 4.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,997.22 while a six-month bill sold for $9,993.93. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.112 percent for the three-month bills and 0.122 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 0.17 percent last week, the same as the previous week.

[Associated Press]

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