Rates Fall in Treasury Bill Auction

The Treasury Department sold $12 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 5.770%, down from 5.900% last week. An additional $10 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 5.660%, down from 5.790%. The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors--5.939% for three-month bills with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,854.10 and 5.907% for a six-month bill selling for $9,713.90. In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said the average yield for one-year Treasury bills fell to 5.73% last week from 5.78% the previous week. The next auction of two-year notes will be Dec. 27.