Short-term T-bill rates mixed

WASHINGTON -- Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities were mixed in yesterday's auction.

The Treasury Department sold $18 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.640 percent, up from 1.635 percent last week. An additional $16 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 1.840 percent, down from 1.860 percent.

The three-month rate was the highest since Oct. 21, 2002, when the bills sold for 1.665 percent. The six-month rate was the lowest since Aug. 30, when the rate was 1.775 percent.

The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors -- 1.671 percent for three-month bills with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,958.50 and 1.883 percent for a six-month bill selling for $9,907.00.

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, rose to 2.10 percent last week from 2.03 percent the previous week.