Net $6.68 bln U.S. govt securities stripped in February

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday said a net $6.68 billion of government securities were stripped in February.

Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of Securities, or STRIPS, are created by separating the interest coupon from the principal payment. The coupon and principal can also be rejoined, or reconstituted.

The Treasury said $9.559 trillion in securities were eligible for stripping in February. Of the total, $200.875 billion were held in stripped form on Feb. 29, compared with $194.196 billion at the end of the prior month.