Dubai Egypt fell 38 per cent short of its four billion Egyptian-pound (Dh2.43 billion) fundraising goal at an auction of government securities as yields rose.
The North African country sold 1.5 billion pounds of the three billion pounds of nine-month treasury bills offered as the average yield rose 16 basis points, or 0.16 of a percentage point, to 15.772 per cent, according to data posted on the Finance Ministry website. The yields surged the most since January. Egypt raised the targeted one billion pounds of three-month bills as yields climbed 22 basis points to 14.161 per cent.
The Saudi aid, part of a package of about $4 billion originally announced in July 2011, is being discussed by officials from both countries and will be implemented in the "coming few days," the kingdom's ambassador to Cairo Ahmad Qattan said on Al Arabiya television May 3.
Qattan returned to Cairo on Saturday after he was recalled more than a week ago following demonstrations outside the embassy protesting the arrest of an Egyptian human rights activist in the kingdom.
Egypt's foreign currency reserves rose in April for the first time in 16 months, gaining $94 million to $15.2 billion, according to data from the Central Bank of Egypt. Reserves fell to $15.1 billion in March, enough to cover 3.1 months of imports, according to Bloomberg calculations based on official data. That's down from 8.7 months in December 2010.
The yield on the Egypt's 5.75 per cent dollar bonds due in 2020 retreated three basis points, or 0.03 of a percentage point, to 6.89 per cent on May 4, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg.
