The average yield on Egyptian 3-month T-bills inched up for a third week on Sunday, but the yield on 9-month bills declined, the central bank said.

The yield on the 3-month bills rose to 12.438 per cent from 12.414 per cent at last week's auction. The bank sold only 900 million Egyptian pounds ($147.47 million) of the bills compared to the 1 billion pounds it had offered.

The average yield on 9-month T-bills decreased to 13.122 per cent from 13.973 per cent at an auction two weeks ago, with the central bank selling 3 billion pounds of the bills, the same amount it had sought to sell.

The central bank sells the T-bills on behalf of the finance ministry. ($1 = 6.1030 Egyptian pounds)