Rates mixed at weekly US Treasury auction with 3-month bills unchanged while 6-month bills dip

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 rose to the highest point 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 0.100 percent, up from 0.085 percent last week.

The six-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.110 percent two weeks ago on June 29.

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 $9,994.94. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.015 percent for the three-month bills and 0.102 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 0.26 percent last week from 0.27 percent the previous week.