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U.S. sells 1-month bills at zero pct for 2nd week

Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:35pm EST

NEW YORK, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Investors scooped up $25 billion of one-month Treasury bills on Tuesday, charging the government nothing for this type of loan for a second week in a row.

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The intense demand for ultra-short government securities underscored the extreme anxiety among investors amid signs of a persistent credit crunch and a worsening global economy.

"There is still a tremendous amount of aversion to risk," said Rudy Narvas, senior strategist at 4Cast Ltd in New York. "People want to put money where it's safe even though it's not offering anything."

The U.S. Treasury Department sold its latest batch of one-month bills at zero percent, matching the clearing level set at the auction a week ago.

The latest bid-to-cover ratio, which is the level of bids submitted versus the amount of T-bills offered, eased to 3.67 from 4.20 last week. For more, see [ID:nTAR000932]

At the same time, the Treasury sold $22 billion of one-year T-bills at a high rate of 0.59 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.57. For more, see [ID:nTAR000936]

The Treasury has sold $101 billion of T-bills this week. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Dan Grebler)



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