CAIRO, Sep. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian Ministry of Finance auctioned on Thursday treasury bonds at a total value of 17.25 billion Egyptian pounds (0.96 billion U.S. dollars), the ministry said in an online statement.

The ministry sold 182-day treasury bonds worth 8.5 billion pounds with an average interest rate of 19.435 percent, and the yield ranges from 18.501 percent to 19.501 percent, according to the statement.

It also sold 357-day treasury bonds worth 8.75 billion pounds with an average interest rate of 19.248 percent, and the yield spans from 18.9 percent to 19.299 percent, it added.

The ministry already issued treasury bonds worth 33 billion pounds in total, respectively on Aug. 30 and Sept. 2.

On Wednesday, Egypt reopened trading on five-year treasury bonds worth 3.5 billion pounds with a fixed interest rate of 17.65 percent, after the same tender was cancelled by the ministry on Monday citing "unrealistic" interest rates demanded by banks and investors.

Egypt, which suffers from a budget deficit, is now going through a strict three-year economic reform, which started with full liberalization of the pound's exchange rate in late 2016.

The country aims to reduce interest rate on government debt instruments in the current 2018-2019 fiscal year to an average of 14.7 percent compared with 18.5 percent last year.

Egypt's fiscal year starts in early July and ends in late June.