The exchange rate of the pound witnessed a state of near stability against the US dollar today, Thursday, amid a cautious calm after a series of declines during the past days.
And last Monday, the Central Bank of Egypt devalued the local currency by more than 0.10 pounds (10 piasters) to the dollar, which is the largest daily decline in 4 months.
This is not the first time in 2022 that the Central Bank of Egypt has allowed the pound to fall by such a large value, as the local currency fell against the US dollar by 0.34 pounds (34 piasters) against the dollar, and that was from 22 to 25 May of 2022.
The price of the dollar in Egyptian banks
The price of the dollar against the Egyptian pound in the Central Bank of Egypt moved slightly today, Thursday, and recorded 19.60 pounds for purchase, and 19.70 pounds for sale, compared to 19.61 pounds for purchase, and 19.68 pounds for sale, yesterday, Wednesday.
In the National Bank of Egypt (the largest governmental bank), the price of the dollar stabilized at 19.61 pounds for purchase, and 19.67 pounds for sale, which are the same prices as yesterday, Wednesday.
Prices also did not change in the Commercial International Bank (the largest private bank), where the dollar recorded about 19.63 pounds for purchase, and 19.69 pounds for sale.
The impact of the IMF loan on the Egyptian pound
The decline of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar comes at a time when the Egyptian government is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund, a financial assistance package to support the economy affected by the war between Russia and Ukraine and the Corona pandemic, like many economies of the world.
During the past few months, the Egyptian markets suffered from the lack of foreign currency availability, for several reasons, most notably the impact of tourism in Egypt, with the decrease in the number of tourists from Russia and Ukraine, in addition to the withdrawal of foreign investors from the Egyptian treasury bond markets.
The Egyptian pound is close to reaching its lowest level of 19.80 against the dollar, and that was on December 21, 2016.