The Egyptian central bank offered $50 million to banks at its 16th foreign currency auction on Thursday.

The cut-off price at the auction was LE6.682, down from LE6.6525 on Tuesday. The auction saw $48.7 million sold to local banks, which was less than the $50 million it had initially offered.

The auctions are part of a shift in currency policy announced in late December and designed to save the country's foreign reserves, which have fallen to a critical level. The bank decided two weeks ago to holding three auctions per week, instead of daily sales.