The Egyptian Ministry of Finance sold 91- and 273-day treasury bills worth EGP 4.5 billion on Sunday, while the target was to sell EGP 5 billion worth of T-bills. The Ministry offered EGP 1.5 billion worth of 91-day T-bills, but it only raised EGP 1 billion. It raised EGP 3.5 billion from the 273-day T-bills, the total value of it has offered. The yields on 91-day T-bills ranged from 12.252% to 12.999%, while the average return registered 12.868%. The yields on 273-day T-bills ranged from 13.25% to 14.300%, while the average return registered 13.935%. This raises the value of treasury bills and bonds offered by the Ministry of Finance during March to EGP 45 billion, while the target is EGP 51.5 billion. The Ministry sells government debt instruments (treasury bills and bonds) so as to finance the burgeoning budget deficit, although these instruments impose huge burdens on the government on the long term as their returns exceed 16% at times. The Minister of Finance El-Morsi El-Sayed Hegazy announced today that the state's budget deficit is expected to reach EGP 188 billion for FY 2012/2013. The Economic signs released by the Finance Ministry showed that the budget deficit widened to EGP 119.8 billion during seven months starting from the current fiscal year to last January, registering 6.7% of the country's GDP.
