Freddie draws mixed rates, demand for $3 bln bill sale

NEW YORK, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Freddie Mac (FRE.N) (FRE.P) said it sold $3 billion of bills on Monday at mixed interest rates, and mixed demand compared with sales of the same maturities last week.

Its $1.5 billion of three-month bills due April 13, 2009 were auctioned at a 0.200 percent rate, up from the prior record low rate of 0.150 percent for its $1 billion sale on Jan. 5.

The company also sold $1.5 billion of six-month bills due July 13, 2009 at an all-time low of 0.329 percent rate, down from the 0.390 percent rate on $1 billion of bills auctioned a week ago.

Demand for the three-month bills was lower than last week, with a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.11 compared with 4.04 on Jan. 5, while demand for the six-month bills was higher at 3.97 from 3.86 in the previous week.

A bid-to-cover ratio reflects the amount of bids compared with the amount offered. The higher the ratio the stronger the demand, the lower the ratio the weaker demand.

Settlement is Jan. 13. (Reporting by Caryn Trokie; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)