US treasury bill rates dip to lowest since 2012

[September 04, 2013]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Tuesday's auction to the lowest levels since early 2012.

The Treasury Department auctioned $30 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.030 percent, down from 0.040 percent last week. Another $25 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.055 percent, down from 0.065 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the lowest since three-month bills averaged 0.025 percent on Jan. 17, 2012. The six-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.050 percent on Jan. 9, 2012.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,999.24 while a six-month bill sold for $9,997.22. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.030 percent for the three-month bills and 0.056 percent for the six-month bills.

The weekly auction of three-month and six-month Treasury bills is normally held on Monday but took place on Tuesday this week because of the Labor Day holiday.

Separately, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, edged down to 0.13 percent last week from 0.14 percent the previous week.

[Associated Press]

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.