Egypt T-Bills Mixed After Last Week’s Rebound

Yields on Egyptian treasury bills were mixed at an auction on Sunday, with three-month bills climbing for a second week after having reached their lowest level since the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in early 2011.

Yields fell by more than 300 basis points after the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi on July 3 and Gulf Arab countries subsequently pledged $12 billion in aid. They rebounded last week for the first time since the army’s intervention.

“Sentiment remains bullish on government debt, and appetite is strong as evidenced by the elevated bid-to-cover ratios on this week’s auctions,” said Youssef Kamel, a Cairo-based fixed income trader.

The average yield on 91-day treasury bills increased to 11.037 percent from 10.949 percent at last week’s auction, but the yield on 266-day T-bills fell to 11.382 percent from 11.488 percent, the central bank said.

The bank sold 2 billion Egyptian pounds of the 91-day T-bills and 3.5 billion pounds of the 266-day bills, the amounts it had sought.

Source: Reuters