The Egyptian central bank offered $75 million to banks at its 10th foreign currency auction on Tuesday, the same amount it offered at the last auction on Sunday.

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 is holding three auctions this week, instead of daily sales.

The results of the auction have not yet been announced.

The Egyptian pound has weakened by about 3.2 per cent on the interbank market to LE6.526 to the US dollar since the start of January. The reserves stood at $15 billion in December.