Interest Rates Fall At Citicorp Auction Of Commercial Paper
NEW YORK -- Average interest rates at a big weekly auction of commercial paper fell for the third straight week, suggesting that short-term corporate borrowing costs are on the decline.</br></br>The average interest rate at Citicorp's $50 million auction of 91-day commercial paper, or corporate IOUs, dropped to 9.3159% from 9.595% at last week's sale.</br></br>As recently as late March, Citicorp sold 91-day paper with an average payout slightly over 10%.</br></br>Bids totaling $448 million were submitted. Accepted bids ranged from 9.302% to 9.325%.</br></br>Citicorp also said that the average rate at its $50 million auction of 182-day commercial paper fell to 9.115% from 9.423% at last week's sale.