Rates mixed at weekly US Treasury auction

WASHINGTON (AP) - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in Monday's auction, with the rate on three-month bills unchanged and the rate on six-month bills falling to their lowest point in two weeks.

The Treasury Department auctioned $37 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.320 percent, unchanged from the last week. Another $32 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.425 percent, down from 0.430 percent last week.

The six-month rate was the lowest since those bills averaged 0.390 percent on July 11.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,991.91, while a six-month bill sold for $9,978.51. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.325 percent for the three-month bills and 0.432 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, rose to 0.55 percent last week from 0.52 percent the previous week.