Cairo: Egypt’s central bank kept the Egyptian pound steady at 7.73 per dollar at a foreign exchange auction on Thursday after a depreciation earlier this month. The pound remained virtually unchanged at currency exchange bureaus.
The central bank said it had offered $40 million and sold $37.8 million at a cut-off price of 7.7301 pounds per dollar, unchanged from Tuesday’s rate.
The central bank held the pound at 7.5301 for five months until earlier this month, when it allowed it to weaken to 7.6301. On July 5, the bank let it slide a further 0.10 pounds.
Analysts say letting the pound weaken in a controlled way could boost exports and attract further investment, but also raises Egypt’s large bill for imported fuel and food staples.
Egypt has sought to tame a once-thriving currency black market with measures such as a cap on dollar-denominated bank deposits.
Two traders at currency exchange bureaus said the pound was changing hands at 7.87/.88 per dollar on Thursday, barely changed from 7.88 quoted on Tuesday.
The central bank gave banks permission in January to trade dollars up to 0.10 pounds more or less than the official rate, with an extra 0.05 pounds for currency exchange bureaus.
