CBE: Yield On 182-Day T-Bills Rose To A Decade-High Level

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said the average yield on 182-day treasury bills rose at an auction on Thursday to its highest in more than a decade, while the yield on 364-day bills touched an eight-year high.

The government has turned to the domestic market to finance its widening budget deficit since the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year, stretching the lending ability of local banks.

The average yield on 182-day T-bills was up to 15.492 percent from 15.359 percent at an auction last week, and EGP 2 billion ($330.4 million) worth were sold.

The average yield on 364-day bills rose to 15.965 percent from 15.915 percent at an auction on June 7. This matched the previous high of 15.965 percent on that maturity in February.

CBE sold EGP 1.946 billion worth of the 364-day bills on Thursday instead of the EGP 3 billion it had sought, Reuters reported.

CBE sells the bills on behalf of the Ministry of Finance.