Freddie Mac sells $3 bln bills at mixed rates, demand

Feb 4 (Reuters) - Freddie Mac, the No. 2 U.S. home funding company, on Monday said it sold $3 billion of reference bills at mixed rates and mixed demand compared with last week's sale of similar maturities.

Freddie Mac said it sold $1 billion of three-month bills, due May 6, 2013, at a 0.084 percent rate, down from the 0.089 percent rate for its sale of $1 billion three-month bills sold Jan. 28.

The company sold $1 billion of six-month bills, due Aug. 5, 2013, at a 0.116 percent rate, up from a 0.115 percent rate for $1 billion six-month bills sold last week.

Freddie Mac also sold $1 billion of 12-month bills, due Feb. 3, 2014, at a 0.155 percent rate, down from a 0.195 percent rate for $500 million 12-month bills sold Oct. 15, 2012.

Demand for the three-month bills was lower with a bid-to-cover ratio of 5.34 down from the 6.12 ratio for the three-month bills sold Jan. 28.

Demand for the six-month bills was stronger at 5.27 compared with 4.80 for six-month bills sold a week ago.

Demand for the 12-month bills was weaker, with a bid-to-cover ratio of 5.50 versus 6.87 for the 12-month bill sale on Oct. 15.

A bid-to-cover ratio reflects the amount of bids compared with the amount offered. A higher ratio indicates stronger demand.

Settlement is Feb. 5.