Rates mixed at weekly US Treasury auction with 3-month bills unchanged and 6-month bills lower

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in Monday's auction with rates on three-month bills unchanged while rates on six-month bills dipped to the lowest level in two weeks.

The Treasury Department auctioned $24 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.015 percent, the same as last week. Another $24 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.085 percent, down from 0.110 percent last week.

The six-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.080 percent on June 22.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,999.62 while a six-month bill sold for $9,995.70. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.015 percent for the three-month bills and 0.086 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, edged down to 0.27 percent last week from 0.29 percent the previous week.