Tightening credit conditions have the Fed worried: The Federal Reserve has warned that the recent crisis in the US banking system poses a risk to economic growth as lenders grow more concerned about their balance sheets. In its latest financial stability report (pdf), the central bank said that banks could hold back on making loans due to the uncertainty, further tightening liquidity and raising borrowing costs further. “A sharp contraction in the availability of credit would drive up the cost of funding for businesses and households, potentially resulting in a slowdown in economic activity,” it wrote. Bloomberg and the Financial Times have more.

MEANWHILE- Drilling starts at Aphrodite: Chevron, Shell, and Israeli energy firm NewMed Energy have started drilling at Cyprus’ Aphrodite field, Reuters reports, citing a statement from NewMed. The field is thought to contain up to 129 bcm of gas, according to NewMed’s website. The appraisal well will confirm the reserves and will take three months to finish, the company said.

Egypt is expected to export Aphrodite gas: Egypt and Cyprus are in talks to construct apipeline linking the field to Egypt’s liquefaction facilities, allowing the gas to be exported as LNG.

EGX30

17,643

+2.4% (YTD: +20.9%)

USD (CBE)

Buy 30.83

Sell 30.96

USD at CIB

Buy 30.85

Sell 30.95

Interest rates CBE

18.25% deposit

19.25% lending

Tadawul

11,256

0.0% (YTD: +7.4%)

ADX

9,691

-0.2% (YTD: -5.1%)

DFM

3,583

0.0% (YTD: +7.4%)

S&P 500

4,138

+0.1% (YTD: +7.8%)

FTSE 100

7,778

+1.0% (YTD: +4.4%)

Euro Stoxx 50

4,349

+0.2% (YTD: +14.6%)

Brent crude

USD 76.59

+1.7%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.24

+4.9%

Gold

USD 2,028.60

+0.2%

BTC

USD 27,459

-5.0% (YTD: +66.6%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 2.4% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 2.12 bn. Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 20.9% YTD.

In the green: Abu Qir Fertilizers (+9.4%), AMOC (+7.3%) and Qalaa Holdings (+5.6%).

In the red: Ibnsina Pharma (-2.3%), and Juhayna (-0.7%).

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