Rates mixed on T-bills

Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities were mixed in yesterday's auction. The Treasury Department sold $19 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.940 percent, up from 0.930 percent last week. An additional $17 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 0.990 percent, down from 0.995 percent.

The three-month rate was the highest since Sept. 2 when the bills sold for 0.970 percent. The six-month rate was the lowest since Feb. 17 when the rate was 0.975 percent. The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors -- 0.957 percent for three-month bills with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,976.20 and 1.008 percent for a six-month bill selling for $9,950.

In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said yesterday that the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, dipped to 1.22 percent last week from 1.23 percent the previous week.