CBE: 182-Day T-Bills Registers A Decade-High Record

Central bank of Egypt (CBE) said the average yield on 182-day treasury bills rose to its highest in at least a decade on Thursday’s auction.

The government has stretched the lending ability of local banks after turning to the domestic market to finance a budget deficit that widened in the wake of last year’s popular uprising.

The average yield on the bills inched up to 15.316 percent from 15.295 percent at an auction last week, and EGP 3 billion ($496.8 million) worth were sold.

The average yield on the 364-day bills increased to 15.915 percent from 15.899 percent at an auction on May 24, with EGP 3 billion worth sold.

CBE, which sells the bills on behalf of the finance ministry, said it sold all the bills it had offered, Reuters reported.