The cost of insuring Middle East and North African debt against default rose sharply on Friday as investors worried about political stability in the region. Egyptians have staged demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, following similar protests in Tunisia, which caused its president to flee earlier this month.
Israeli five-year credit default swaps also rose after Israel unveiled measures aimed at curbing hot money flows, while Turkish assets were under pressure from a sharp widening in Turkey's current account deficit. Egypt's five-year credit default swaps rose 17 basis points to 405 bps, their highest since April 2009, according to Markit, and Morocco's 5-year CDS rose 23 bps to an 18-month high at 203 bps. Tunisia central bank 5-yr CDS traded at an 18-mth high of 205 bps, unchanged from Thursday's close.
Israel's 5-year CDS rose 9 bps to an 18-month high of 134 bps and Turkey's 5-year CDS rose 5 bps to a 4-month high of 159 bps. In Saudia Arabia, which does not have an active CDS market, dollar/Saudi one-year forwards jumped to their highest in two years, reflecting expectations for a fall in Saudi's currency in 12 months' time.