U.S. T-bill rates extend fall after Senate debt deal

NEW YORK, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Interest rates on U.S. Treasury bills due in late October through early November extended their earlier decline on Wednesday after Senate leader Harry Reid said his congressional chamber reached a deal to raise the debt ceiling and to reopen the government.

But the bid and offered rates on these T-bill issues remained as much as 0.10 percentage point apart after the deal announcement, suggesting traders' caution over whether the deal could clear the House of Representatives.

During normal trading conditions, the bid-ask spread on T-bill rates is 0.01 percentage point or 1 basis point.

The rates on the T-bill issue due on Oct. 31 was last quoted at 0.3025-0.2025 percent, near their session lows and down nearly 22 basis points from late on Tuesday.