Egypt crisis boosts EM money market rates

Developing nations are seeing money market rates soar at the fastest pace since 2008, as central banks in EMs boost borrowing costs in reaction to concerns over political unrest in Egypt.

The yield on short-term debt in emerging markets increased to 2.5% on Friday, rising from a record-low of 1.74% on 31 December, Bloomberg reports. Similarly the extra yield on developing nation dollar bonds over US treasuries was boosted to 2.77 percentage points today, fuelled by higher overseas borrowing costs. The Egyptian unrest, in which protesters are fighting with authorities in attempt to end the reign of president Hosni Mubarek, has seen Middle East shares plummet, with Abu Dhabi's index falling the most in a year. Oil has also been significantly affected by the crisis, wi...