An Egyptian policeman directs the traffic in front of the Egyptian Central Bank offices in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013 (AP)
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) kept on Tuesday the local currency's rate stable against the US dollar at 8.78 in its weekly forex auction, state news agency MENA reported.
CBE sold a total of $119.4 million of the $120 million it offers in weekly auctions in an attempt to meet banks' needs for strategic and basic imported goods.
Egyptian banks trade the dollar at EGP 8.88.
Egypt, with a population of 90-million, which relies heavily on imports of staples, has been facing shortage in hard currencies since the 2011 uprising that was followed by political unrest driving away tourists and foreign investors.
Egypt's net foreign reserves rose slightly to $17.546 billion at the end of June.
In March, the CBE weakened the Egyptian pound by 14 percent of its value against the dollar in an attempt to eliminate black market trading, a move that led to price increases.
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