CAIRO: Egyptian 91-day and 266-day treasury bill yields jumped to their highest in more than four months on Sunday as demand for government securities declined amid expectations of a central bank interest rate cut in the next quarter.
The average yield at a sale of 2 billion Egyptian pounds ($285.41 million) of 91-day bills rose to 10.637 percent, its highest since November 26, from 10.423 percent at the last such auction on April 27.
The yield at a 3.5 billion pound sale of 266-day bills rose to 11.161 percent, the highest since November 26, from 10.859 percent at a similar auction of 273-day t-bills on April 27.
"I believe in the coming period we will have a cut in corridor rates, maybe next monetary policy meeting or the one after," one fixed-income trader said.
"So I think that the uptrend we are seeing is just something temporary and will stabilise," he added.
Last week yields for 182-day and 357-day treasury bill yields jumped to their highest in more than three months.
The government has turned mainly to the local money market to finance its public deficit since a popular uprising in early 2011 chased away most foreign investors and put pressure on the local currency. Local banks have benefited from the high yields Egypt's debt offers.
On Monday, the central bank kept its key interest rates on hold as it seeks to find a balance between stimulating the economy and keeping inflationary pressures in check.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.