Rates Fall at Weekly US Treasury Bill Auction

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday’s auction to the lowest levels in six weeks.

The Treasury Department auctioned $32 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.065 percent, down from 0.070 percent last week. Another $27 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.090 percent, down from 0.095 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the lowest since three-month bills averaged 0.050 percent six weeks ago, on Nov. 4. The six-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.085 percent, also on Nov. 4.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,998.36, while a six-month bill sold for $9,995.45. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.066 percent for the three-month bills and 0.091 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 up to 0.14 percent last week from 0.13 percent the previous week.