Yields on Egypt's 3 &7 T-bonds rise amid high foreign buying

CAIRO - 10 July 2017: The average yields on Egypt's three-year and seven-year bonds rose at an auction on Monday, central bank data showed, as foreigners snapped up high-yielding debt following the central bank's 200-basis point interest rate hike last week.

The average yield on three-year bonds rose to 19.478 percent on from 18.382 percent at the last auction on June 21, while seven-year bond yields rose to 19.214 percent from 18.346 percent.

Foreign participation in the sale reached 545 million Egyptian pounds ($30.53 million), or 31 percent of the total issuance, the head of public debt at the Finance Ministry, Sami Khallaf told Reuters.

The central bank raised its key interest rates by 200 basis points last week in a bid to curb soaring inflation, a move that helped push up treasury bill yields.

Foreign interest in Egyptian debt instruments has surged since the country floated its currency last November, with foreigners buying $9.8 billion worth of debt during the 2016-17 fiscal year ending in June versus just $1.1 billion a year earlier, a boon for the hard currency-strapped country.