Short-term Treasury bill rates slip

February 23, 2011|Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in yesterday’s auction to the lowest levels since last June.

The Treasury Department auctioned $32 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.11 percent, down from 0.13 percent last week. Another $30 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.15 percent, down from 0.16 percent.

Both rates were the lowest since June 14, when three-month bills averaged 0.06 percent and six-month bills averaged 0.15 percent.

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 $9,992.16. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.11 percent for the three-month bills and 0.15 percent for the six-month bills.

Separately, the Federal Reserve said the average yield for one-year Treasury bills fell to 0.29 percent last week from 0.30 percent the previous week.