Rates mixed in T-bill auction

WASHINGTON -- 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 2.28 percent, up from 2.23 percent last week. An additional $17 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 2.560 percent, unchanged from last week's auction.

The three-month rate was the highest since Oct. 1, 2001, when the bills sold for 2.320 percent.

The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors -- 2.32 percent for three-month bills with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,942.49 and 2.63 percent for a six-month bill selling for $9,870.58.

In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said that the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, rose to 2.77 percent last week from 2.71 percent the previous week.