CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound dipped to 8.15 percent on Thursday from Wednesday s 8.27 percent, with the cancellation of a T-bill auction boosting liquidity in the market, bankers said. The Finance Ministry had offered 364-day T-bills worth LE 1.5 billion ($260 million) for auction on Thursday and issue on May 30. The Central Bank of Egypt, which auctions the bills on behalf of the Finance Ministry, did not say why the auction had been cancelled. It s because of the cancellation, said one banker to explain the fall in overnight interbank rates. Three of eight banks contacted by Reuters had dealt overnight at rates of 8.1 to 8.25 percent. Overnight rates at banks contacted on Wednesday were between 8.1 and 8.3 percent. The central bank sets a corridor for overnight interbank rates by offering to borrow funds from banks at 8 percent and to lend to them at 10 percent. None of the banks had dealt one-week money. One of the banks contacted on Wednesday had dealt for one week at 8.45 percent. The pound was steady against the dollar at 11:00 GMT at LE 5.7675, unchanged from Wednesday s general weighted average. Reuters
