Egypt Plans to Auction $9 billion T-bonds in August

Within this August, Egypt’s Finance Ministry plans to launch debt instruments totalling 64.5 billion Egyptian pounds (around $9 billion).

During this month of July, Egypt has offered governmental debt instruments worth 79.5 billion Egyptian pounds (around $11.13 billion).

According to a key official at Finance Ministry, the state debt plans for the current quarter include borrowing 224.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($31.44 billion) to plug the state budget deficit.

Egypt’s budget deficit is expected to reach EGP 240 billion ($33.61 billion).

Yields on treasury bills and bonds are also expected to rise over the coming period due to the decision of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to raise the lending and deposit interest rates.

Earlier this month, the country’s central bank unexpectedly raised interest rates after a government move this month to increase energy prices threatened to push up the cost of consumer goods.

The Monetary Policy Committee raised the benchmark overnight deposit rate by one percentage point to 9.25 percent. The overnight lending rate was also raised 100 basis points to 10.25 percent.