saw exchange rate dollar Against the Egyptian pound in Thursday’s trading, it rose by about 3 piasters in a number of banks in the local market, amid an increase in the euro and the pound sterling.
The Egyptian pound is under great pressure due to the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the economy, which led to the high cost of importing basic commodities and fuel, and the exit of about 20 billion dollars of indirect foreign investments in Egyptian debt instruments.
The banks traded the dollar exchange rates on Thursday, between 19.37 and 19.42 pounds for purchase, compared to 19.43 and 19.45 pounds for sale.
In the National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr, the dollar exchange rate recorded a level of 19.37 pounds for purchase, and 19.43 pounds for sale.
In private banks, the dollar exchange rate at the Commercial International Bank recorded a level of 19.39 pounds for purchase, and 19.45 pounds for sale, and the exchange rate of the American green paper reached 19.37 pounds for purchase, and 19.45 pounds for sale at the Arab African Bank, and the exchange rate was recorded at Abu Dhabi Bank The Islamic level is 19.42 pounds for purchase, and 19.45 pounds for sale.
The exchange rate of the euro in the National Bank and Banque Misr recorded a level of 19.28 pounds for purchase, and 19.43 pounds for sale.
The exchange rate of the pound sterling at the National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr recorded a level of 22.25 pounds for purchase, and 22.44 pounds for sale.
In the Arab world, the exchange rate of the Saudi riyal against the Egyptian pound at the National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr recorded a level of 5.14 pounds for purchase, and 5.17 pounds for sale, and the exchange rate of the Emirati dirham recorded a level of 5.27 pounds for purchase, and 5.29 pounds for sale, while the Kuwaiti dinar exchange rate against The Egyptian pound is at a level of 60.52 pounds for purchase, and 62.96 pounds for sale.
There is no longer any dispute over the step to reduce the pound, but the division is over whether the reduction will be gradual or a sharp adjustment, as happened in November 2016.
The value of the local currency has now fallen by more than 22% against the dollar since its devaluation last March.
The slow decline of the pound against the dollar indicates that the Central Bank of Egypt is choosing a gradual path to devaluing the pound rather than implementing a sudden sharp devaluation similar to what happened in 2016.
The step of devaluing the pound will be on the way to alleviating the current economic crisis in order to obtain a loan from the International Monetary Fund and to fulfill the promises of the Gulf countries to pump large investments into Egypt.
Standard Chartered expects the Egyptian government to agree with the International Monetary Fund to obtain a $6 billion loan before the end of September.
The bank believes that the movement in the exchange rate will be gradual, and it is expected that the dollar price will rise to 20.75 pounds by the end of this year.
In a related context, the Bank maintained its expectations that inflation rates would reach 11.6% in the year ending in June 2023, and that it would peak at 15% in the fourth quarter of 2022.
It is noteworthy that the inflation rate recorded 14.6% in August due to the increase in fuel prices. According to the bank, the central bank is expected to raise interest rates by 100 basis points at its meeting on September 22 to curb these rates.