The US dollar exchange rate witnessed a relatively high increase against the Egyptian pound, and a slight fluctuation among banks at the beginning of Saturday morning trading, where it exceeded the limit of LE18 in private banks, and remained relatively stable in government banks.

Egypt has reiterated its concerns over Qatar s "backing of terrorism," saying that resolving the row with Doha is dependent on the state s "positive response" to demands issued by the four Arab countries boycotting it. The remarks by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry came during a meeting between US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his counterparts from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, in a bid to end the month-long rift with Qatar, the worst dispute among Gulf Arab states in decades.

Egyptian and French naval forces concluded on Wednesday joint naval military exercises dubbed "Cleopatra," which ran for several days in Egyptian territorial waters in the Mediterranean and Red seas, the Egyptian army announced on Wednesday. The exercise included planning and management of joint offensive and defensive combat operations, inspection of suspicious vessels, transportation exercises, helicopter manoeuvres, air defence and the maritime landing of personnel and equipment on coasts.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ended talks with ministers from Saudi Arabia and three Arab allies on Wednesday over how to end a month-long rift with Qatar but there was no immediate word of a breakthrough. Tillerson, en route to mediating country Kuwait, had inked a U.S.-Qatari accord on terrorism financing on Wednesday that Qatar s opponents said fell short of allaying their concerns.

Egypt, the world s largest wheat buyer, will stop subsidising flour for its sweeping bread subsidy programme next month in a move expected to cut wheat imports by up to 10 percent by curtailing smuggling, the supply ministry said on Wednesday. Egypt is looking to tighten its finances as it pushes ahead with a $12 billion three-year International Monetary Fund loan programme tied to ambitious reforms such as subsidy cuts and tax increases.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain will meet on Wednesday in Jeddah with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to discuss the four countries ongoing diplomatic row with Qatar, the Egyptian foreign ministry announced on Tuesday.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi told Italian lawmakers on Tuesday that Egypt is committed to bringing the killers of Italian student Giulio Regeni to justice, according to a statement by the presidency. El-Sisi stressed to a delegation from the Italian senate s defence committee in Cairo the importance of “continued close cooperation between investigators of both countries,” according presidency spokesman Alaa Youssef.

Fresh data show Egypt s inflation inched higher in June in a trend likely to continue as electricity and fuel prices rise. The VanEck Vectors Egypt Index exchange-traded fund (EGPT) was down 2% Monday in midday trading, paring earlier losses. Reutersquotes sources who say the import-dependent nation s core inflation, which rose to 31.95%, could rise to 35 percent over the next four weeks unless the Egyptian pound strengthens. The currency has lost half its value since the central bank allowed it to float.

Egypt expects to receive a second loan installment worth $1.25 billion from the International Monetary Fund within the next week, Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy told private television channel CBC on Monday

Egypt is currently working to end a Saudi ban on imports of Egyptian strawberries implemented by the Gulf country on Saturday, agriculture minister Abdel-Moneim El-Banna said on Sunday. El-Banna said in press statements his ministry is in talks with Saudi officials to resolve several problems related to the export of a number of products, including strawberries, as a prelude to the reintroduction of exports to the Gulf country, which imposed the ban in June but put it in effect this week. The minister stressed that Egyptian experts will be presented with Saudi conditions for resuming Egyptian crop imports.

Egypts Minister of Transportation Hesham Arafat said in an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper on Sunday that ticket prices for Cairos metro system are expected to see a gradual increase reaching up to EGP 4 by the last quarter of 2018. Railway ticket prices will also see an increase, but not before the completion of ongoing development and renovation projects worth EGP 45 billion, according to Arafat.

Egypts central bank governor Tarek Amer told state run Al-Akhbar Daily on Sunday that the recent hike in interest rates should lead the holders of US dollars to buying Egyptian pounds, thereby boosting the pounds value. On Thursday, the CBE unexpectedly raised its key interest rates by 200 basis points for the second policy meeting in a row. At the meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee, the bank raised the overnight deposit rate to 18.75 percent from 16.75 percent, and its overnight lending rate to 19.75 from 17.75 percent, after hiking the rates by 200 points each at the last policy-setting meeting in May.

Egypt announced new hikes in electricity prices by up to 42 percent for households as part of a government reform programme that will include removing power subsidies entirely over the next few years. The new price hikes range from 18 to 42 percent depending on consumption levels and will take take effect as of this months bill, electricity minister Mohamed Shaker said Thursday during a press conference aired on state TV.

The Egyptian parliament passed a law on Tuesday that will phase out judicial supervision of elections by 2024, and will create the National Electoral Commission (NEC) that will be responsible for supervising elections and referendums. Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal said at the session on Tuesday that the removal of full judicial supervision puts a stop to the “judge for every voting box” principle. The law was discussed earlier in June when parliament was divided over Article 34 which states the complete phasing out of judicial supervision by 2024 to offer the NEC some experience.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain said in a joint statement on Wednesday that Qatar has displayed "complacency and a lack of seriousness" in response to the four countries demands that Qatar stop backing terrorism and interfering in the affairs of neighbouring countries.

EgyptAir will soon launch two flights per week from Cairo to al-Alamein, a town on Egypt’s northern Mediterranean, as part of a plan to boost internal tourism, Chairman of EgyptAir Safwat Mosalam said in a statement. “We are keen to facilitate this for customers to spend summer weekends there, which is why we scheduled weekly flights to run Thursdays and Saturdays, Mosalam said.

Fuel prices have recently risen by more than 40 percent for high octane gasoline 92, which may force many to use low octane gasoline or even give up driving their cars. However, there are ways you can reduce fuel consumption and lessen the impact of the recent inflation: 1- Close the windows when on highways: When the car windows are open, the air resistance of the vehicle is strong. So when you exceed the speed of 80 kilometers per hour, close the windows; this improves vehicle dynamics and resistance to air and reduces fuel consumption by 4 to 5 percent.

The US dollar embarked on a new wave of decline against the pound and lost the equivalent of about 20 piastres of its value on Monday and Tuesday. The greenback settled on EGP 17.8285 for buying and EGP 17.9543 for selling, compared to EGP 18.0276 for buying and EGP 18.1518 for selling on Sunday. In banks, the dollar was changing hands on Tuesday at EGP 17.8-17.9 for buying and EGP 17.9-18 for selling.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban on Monday that Egypt s ongoing fight against terrorism guarantees Europe s security and stability. El-Sisi arrived in Budapest on Monday to attend a summit by the Visegrad Group, which is a cultural and political alliance of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

For the first time in four months, the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Egyptian pound fell below the level of LE18 on Monday in all banks operating in the local market. Bankers said in statements to the state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) that the supply of the US dollar in banks is increasing as is the demand for it.

The Disney company is lifting a ban on having its merchandise manufactured in Egypt, trade minister Tarik Kabil announced on Sunday. Disney instituted the ban in February after a drop in Egypt s ratings in the worldwide governance indicator and the country not joining the International Labour Organisation s (ILO) Better Work Programme, according to media reports.