CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound fell to 8.45 percent on Tuesday from 8.598 percent on Monday as funds maturing into the market outstripped those sought in new auctions, traders said. Maturities today and tomorrow are larger than the auction which is meant to cover them, one of the traders said. Central banks notes totaling LE 10.643 billion ($1.86 billion) mature on Tuesday and Wednesday while the central bank carried out an auction for notes worth LE 7 billion on Tuesday. This means there is more liquidity in the market. This has pushed the rates down, one of the traders said. Seven out of 11 banks contacted by Reuters traded overnight money at rates between 8.45 and 8.56 percent. Overnight rates at banks contacted in the previous session ranged between 8.5 and 8.8 percent. The central bank effectively controls overnight rates by offering 8.25 percent on overnight deposits and lending at 10.25 percent. One of the banks contacted on Tuesday dealt one-week money at 8.625 and 8.75 percent. None of the banks contacted on Monday had dealt one-week. The pound had weakened fractionally by 11:00 GMT to LE 5.7350 to the dollar from Monday s general weighted average of LE 5.7344. Reuters
