The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) hold the pound steady at 7.73 per dollar in a central bank foreign exchange auction on Sunday, unchanged from last sale on Thursday, it posted on its website.
This is the third consecutive time the bank keeps the pound steady, after two depreciations in less than a week each by 10 piasters, which pushed the local currency hit its lowest level since the CBE started FX auctions in December 2012, amid expectation of further devaluation in the coming days.
“The bank offered $40 million and sold 37.5 million at a cutoff price of 7.73 EGP per dollar,” the central bank said Sunday.
The dollar was sold at banks at 7.83 EGP on Sunday, 0.10 EGP above the official rate.
Egypt’s central bank usually holds foreign exchange auctions on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday every week. Such auctions determine the rates at which banks can sell the dollar to clients.
Egypt’s pound had held steady at 7.53 per dollar for five straight months after the CBE allowed it to weaken against the dollar in 10 consecutive depreciations starting January 18, as part of its fight against the dollar black market.
A $10,000 daily ceiling for cash deposits in hard currency was also among the central bank measures, depriving those exchanging their dollars outside the official market from a safe place to deposit their cash.
