Treasury bill rates lower

WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in yesterday's auction to the lowest levels in a month.

The Treasury Department auctioned $31 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.28 percent, down from 0.30 percent last week. Another $29 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.440 percent, down from 0.495 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the lowest since those bills averaged 0.27 percent on Feb. 2. The six-month rate was the lowest since they averaged 0.39 percent, also on Feb. 2.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,992.92, while a six-month bill sold for $9,977.76. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.284 percent for the three-month bills and 0.447 percent for the six-month bills.

Separately, the Federal Reserve said yesterday the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, rose to 0.72 percent last week from 0.64 percent the previous week.