The average yield on the 182-day bill rose to 19.080 percent from 18.402 percent at the last similar auction, and the yield on the 357-day bill rose to 18.447 percent from 17.871 percent.

Foreign holdings in Egyptian treasuries totalled 308 billion Egyptian pounds ($17.5 billion) as of Oct. 3, up from 306.5 billion Egyptian pounds a week earlier, said Sami Khallaf, the head of public debt at the finance ministry.

Foreign contributions in both tenors on Wednesday amounted to 3.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($198.5 million), Khallaf added.

Demand for Egypt's domestic debt has grown since the central bank raised key interest rates by 700 basis points in November last year after it floated the pound currency.