Yields rise on Egypt's six-month, one-year T-bills

CAIRO, July 13 (Reuters) - The average yields on Egypt's six-month and one-year treasury bills rose in an auction on Thursday, data from the central bank showed, as foreigners snapped up high-yielding debt a week after the central bank raised key interest rates 200 basis points.

The average yield on the 182-day bill rose to 22.278 percent from 21.150 percent at the last sale on July 6, and the yield on the 357-day bill rose to 21.993 percent from 20.981 percent in a similar auction.

Demand for Egypt's domestic debt has increased since the central bank floated the currency, the pound, in November as part of an International Monetary Fund loan agreement aimed at reviving the economy

Foreign buying accounted for 51 percent of Thursday's sale, or 7.9 billion pounds ($441.34 million), Sami Khallaf, the head of public debt at the Finance Ministry, told Reuters.

Khallaf said total foreign holdings in Egyptian treasuries totalled 204 billion pounds as of July 11, the last treasury sale before Thursday's.

Egypt attracted $9.8 billion in foreign investment in domestic debt instruments in the 2016-2017 fiscal year, which ended in June, compared with $1.1 billion the previous year, the finance ministry said this month. ($1 = 17.9000 Egyptian pounds)