Rates on US Treasury bills drop at weekly auction

[October 01, 2013]  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 late 2011.

The Treasury Department auctioned $25 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.010 percent, down from 0.020 percent last week. Another $25 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.040 percent, down from 0.050 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the lowest since three-month bills averaged 0.005 percent on Dec. 19, 2011. The six-month rate was the lowest since those bills averaged 0.030 percent on Sept. 16.

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 $9,997.98. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.010 percent for the three-month bills and 0.041 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 0.10 percent last week from 0.11 percent the previous week.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.