Rates fall in Treasury bill auction

<br>WASHINGTON (AP) _ Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities fell in Monday's auction. <br><br>The Treasury Department sold $9 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 4.200 percent,

Monday, March 26th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities fell in Monday's auction.

The Treasury Department sold $9 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 4.200 percent, down from 4.370 percent last week. An additional $8 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 4.120 percent, down from 4.220 percent.

The three-month rate was the lowest since April 12, 1999, when the bills sold for 4.190 percent. The six-month rate was the lowest since Oct. 19, 1998, when the rate was 3.865.

The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors _ 4.305 percent for three-month bills with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,893.80 and 4.266 percent for a six-month bill selling for $9,791.70.

In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills, the most popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, fell to 4.17 percent last week from 4.31 percent the previous week.