Rates Fall in Treasury Bill Auction

The Treasury Department sold $12 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 5.900%, down from 5.96% last week. An additional $10 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 5.790%, down from 5.84%. The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors--6.071% for three-month bills with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,850.90 and 6.047% for a six-month bill selling for $9,707.30. In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills fell to 5.78% last week from 6% the previous week.