Yields on Egyptian three- and nine-month treasury bills increased for a fourth week on Sunday as tensions heightened ahead of the countrywide protests expected next week to mark the first anniversary of Mohamed Mursi's election as president.
The average yield on 91-day treasury bills inched up to 14.211 percent from 14.025 percent at last week's auction while that on 266-day-T bills rose to 14.883 percent from 14.741 percent, the central bank said.
"We see rates rising in the coming auctions as political tension grows ahead of 30 June, and the odds of them falling even after 30 June are thin, unless we see national consensus," said Cairo-based fixed-income dealer Ahmed Kheir Eldin.
Opponents and supporters of Mursi, who was the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, have grown increasingly polarised in recent weeks, and many fear the protests could turn bloody.
Shortly after the auction result was announced Egypt's army issued a warning to rival political factions, saying that it would not stand by if the political rallies descended into conflict.
The bank offered and accepted 2.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($357 million) for the 91-day T-bills, while it offered 3 billion pounds for the 266-day-T-bills but only accepted 1.37 billion pounds.
