EGP averages 49.3 against USD at closing of Thursday’s trading

Ahram Online , Thursday 7 Mar 2024

The Egyptian pound averaged EGP 49.3 against the US dollar in most major banks at the closing of Thursday's trading just 24 hours after the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) floated the local currency against the greenback.

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Two pairs of US hundred dollar and Egyptian hundred pound notes are held before a window showing the skyline of Egypt s capital Cairo and the Nile river on January 16, 2023. AFP

The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) closed the dollar's purchasing and selling price at EGP 49.35 and EGP 49.45, respectively, consistent with the opening rate.

Banque Misr recorded the same closing purchasing rate of EGP 49.3 and a selling rate of EGP 49.4 for the dollar, compared to an opening rate of EGP 49.5 and EGP 49.6 earlier Thursday.

In the Commercial International Bank (CIB), the buying rate stood at EGP 49.3, while the selling rate stood at EGP 49.4, a decrease from EGP 49.5 and EGP 49.6 on Thursday morning.

In ALEXBANK, the dollar jumped to EGP 49.6 for buying and EGP 49.7 for selling at the closing of Thursday's trading, up from EGP 49.4 and EGP 49.5 on Wednesday.

As the Central Bank of Egypt (CIB) devaluated on Wednesday the Egyptian pound against the dollar for the fourth time since early 2022, the local currency experienced a significant drop, declining by 62 percent to approximately EGP 49.5 from its previous value of around EGP 30.9 against the US dollar.

Simultaneously, the CBE raised interest rates by six percent.

These measures, meant to curb inflation, were followed by issuing new certificates of deposits (CDs) by the NBE and Banque Misr, offering an annual yield of up to 30 percent.

Introducing high-yield CDs aims to absorb liquidity in the local market and mitigate the impact of soaring inflation.

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