Interest Rates Mixed on Short-Term T-Bills

The Treasury Department sold $15 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 3.35%, up from 3.33% last week. An additional $13 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 3.29%, unchanged from last week.

The three-month rate was the highest since Aug. 6, when the bills sold for 3.43%.

The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors--3.426% for three-month bills, with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,915.30, and 3.392% for a six-month bill selling for $9,833.70.

In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said the average yield for one-year constant-maturity Treasury bills, the most popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, edged up to 3.45% last week, from 3.44% the previous week.