CAIRO: Egyptian treasury bond yields jumped more than 1 percent at an auction on Monday following last week's surprise 100 basis point hike in interest rates, reaching their highest in more than 10 months.
The central bank delayed announcing the results of the bond auction until Tuesday, which traders said might reflect government concern about rising yields.
Egypt accepted bids worth only 786 million Egyptian pounds ($109.9 million), a fraction of the amount offered.
The average yield on 18-month bonds increased to 12.860 percent from 11.579 percent at the last auction on July 8, while the yield on three-year bonds jumped to 13.971 percent from 12.690 percent. The yield on the seven-year bond rose to 15.781 percent from 14.536 percent.
Yields have not been as high on the three-year and seven-year bonds since last July, shortly after elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi was ousted by the army following mass protests.
The yield on the 18-month bond was the highest since it was first issued last September, according to one trader.
Egyptian treasury bill yields jumped more than 1 percent on Sunday, the first trading day after the central bank raised benchmark interest rates last Thursday.
The unexpected move seen as an attempt to hold down inflation less than two weeks after the government slashed subsidies on fuel and electricity.
Egypt accepted bids worth 170 million Egyptian pounds for the 18-month bonds after offering 1.5 billion pounds, the bank said. It accepted bids worth 223 million pounds for the three-year bonds, compared with 2 billion pounds offered, while for the seven-year bonds it accepted bids worth 393 million pounds after offering 750 million.
"(They) might as well have cancelled instead of accepting such small amounts," said one Cairo-based fixed-income trader.
Bond and treasury bill auctions have been cancelled or capped occasionally in the past, most recently in May, when the bank accepted only about half the amounts it had offered as yields rose.
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