Egypt’s central bank kept the pound steady against the dollar at its official foreign currency auction on Sunday, and the currency held steady on the black market as well.
The central bank surprised markets when it strengthened the pound on Nov. 11 by 20 piasters against the dollar and has bucked expectations by holding it steady ever since. It sold $39.4 at a cut-off price of 7.7301 pounds to the dollar, unchanged from the previous auction last Tuesday.
Official rates are still far stronger than the black market rate, which was around 8.58 pounds to the dollar, unchanged from Tuesday.
The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised benchmark rates by 50 basis points last month, citing inflationary pressures.
Egypt which depends on imported food and energy is facing a dollar shortage and increasing pressure to devalue the pound.
