Yields fall on Egypt's six-month, one-year T-bills; foreign demand high

CAIRO: The average yields on Egypt's six-month and one-year treasury bills fell in an auction on Wednesday, data from the central bank showed, amid high foreign participation.

The average yield on the 182-day bill fell to 21.679 percent from 22.278 percent at the last sale on July 13, and the yield on the 364-day bill fell to 21.706 percent from 21.993 percent in a similar auction.

Foreign buying accounted for 50.4 percent of Wednesday's auction sale, standing at 7.4 billion Egyptian pounds ($413.41 million), the head of public debt at the Finance Ministry, Sami Khallaf, told Reuters.

Demand for Egypt's domestic debt has increased since the central bank floated the currency in November as part of an International Monetary Fund lending programme aimed at boosting the economy.

Egypt's central bank has increased key interest rates by 700 basis points since the pound float.