US Treasury bill rates drop to lowest since 2012
Rates on US Treasury bills drop to lowest levels since January 2012
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction to the lowest levels since January 2012.
The Treasury Department auctioned $30 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.030 percent, down from 0.035 percent last week. Another $25 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.065 percent, down from 0.070 percent last week.
The three-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.025 percent on Jan. 17, 2012. The six-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.060 percent, also on Jan. 17, 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 $9,996.71. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.030 percent for the three-month bills and 0.066 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, was unchanged at 0.11 percent last week, the same as the previous week.
