Interest rates drop on 3- and 6-month Treasury bills

WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Tuesday's auction to the lowest levels since June.

The Treasury Department auctioned $29 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.125 percent, down from 0.130 percent last week. Another $29 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.165 percent, down from 0.185 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.115 percent on June 21. The six-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.150 percent on June 14.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,996.84, while a six-month bill sold for $9,99166. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.127 percent for the three-month bills and 0.167 percent for the six-month bills.

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, fell to 0.24 percent last week from 0.26 percent the previous week.

The regular weekly auction of three-month and six-month bills was held on Tuesday this week instead of Monday because of the Columbus Day holiday.