(Photo: Ahram Online archive)
The value of the Egyptian pound inched slightly lower against the dollar at a central bank foreign exchange auction on Thursday, but the currency weakened by much more on the black market.
The central bank said it sold $38.8 million to banks at the auction, at a price of LE6.9835 to the dollar compared to LE6.9813 at Wednesday's auction.
On the black market, the currency weakened, with one dealer in central Cairo quoting LE7.58 to buy dollars and LE7.63 to sell dollars, compared to LE7.48 and LE7.51 on Wednesday.
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. Since then, the currency has lost almost 11 percent of its value on the official market.
Short link: