CAIRO: The Egyptian pound inched weaker at a central bank foreign exchange auction, which was held early ahead of a yesterday army deadline that could trigger a military takeover.
The currency, however, strengthened on the black market, though one banker cautioned against drawing any conclusions about this, noting that trading was very thin with so many shops closed due to tensions on the streets.
The central bank sold $38.8m to banks at the auction, with the cut-off price at 7.0189 pounds to the dollar compared to 7.0094 pounds at the last auction on Thursday, another banker said.
On the black market, one dealer in central Cairo said he would sell dollars at 7.55 pounds and buy them at 7.50 pounds compared to 7.65 and 7.60 on Tuesday.
“Dollars have suddenly begun appearing in the market,” he said.
The central bank introduced the auctions at the end of December to help stave off a currency crisis and thwart a run on the pound.
Reuters
