The average yield on 3-month Egyptian treasury bills climbed to its highest in at least 15 years at an auction on Sunday, while the yield on 9-month bills inched down, the Ministry of Finance said. The lending ability of local banks has been squeezed after the government turned to the domestic market to finance a budget deficit that widened after the popular uprising unseated Egypt's president in 2011. The average yield on 3-month bills rose to 14.450 per cent from 14.388 per cent at an auction last week. The bank sold 1 billion pounds of the bills, the same amount it had offered. The average yield on 266-day bills edged down to 15.825 per cent from 15.863 per cent at the May 22 issue. The bank sold bills worth 1.5 billion Egyptian pounds, instead of the 2 billion pounds it had sought. The central bank sells the bills on behalf of the finance ministry. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/43698.aspx
