The US dollar traded at EGP 53.55 for buying and EGP 53.68 for selling, up by almost EGP 1 or almost 2 percent from last Thursday’s EGP 52.56 and EGP 52.69.
The currency also increased by almost EGP 1 or 1.8 percent from EGP 52.62 for buying and EGP 52.76 for selling on Sunday, earlier this week.
The returning upward trend interrupts a recent recovery streak following weeks of volatility triggered by the regional war, indicating continued pressure on capital flows and hiking inflation, which unsettled investors.
It’s worth noting that this comes after the CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept key policy interest rates unchanged earlier this month. The MPC’s next meeting to decide on key policy interest rates is on 21 May.
The recent moves point to higher interest rates since state-owned banks such as the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Banque Misr increased the annual yield rates on their certificates of deposit (CDs) to 17.25 percent from 16 percent.
Meanwhile, the Commercial International Bank launched a new CD also offering a fixed annual return of up to 17.5 percent.
Across banks, the pound also slipped against the dollar at this week’s COB, the highest rates between EGP 53.57 and EGP 53.56 for buying and between EGP 53.67 and EGP 53.66 for selling across seven banks, including the Egyptian Arab Land Bank, Banque Misr, and QNB Bank.
The lowest rates were recorded at EGP 53.55 for buying and EGP 53.65 for selling across five lenders, including Crédit Agricole Bank, Suez Canal Bank, and Al Baraka Bank.
Earlier this month, the Egyptian pound had weakened to around EGP 54.5 per dollar, marking a decline of roughly 13.5 percent from its pre-conflict level of EGP 47.9.
By the close of business this week, losses had narrowed to about 12 percent.
This is still higher than the week before’s 9.8 percent, which was supported by the ceasefire announcement, although concerns over renewed escalation and potential capital outflows persist.
Other currencies
The euro rose to EGP 62.7 for buying and EGP 62.87 for selling, up from EGP 61.66 and EGP 61.84 on Sunday. It remains roughly EGP 6.2 higher than pre-conflict levels.
The British pound traded at EGP 72.38 for buying and EGP 72.59 for selling, compared with EGP 71.20 and EGP 71.41 earlier this week, standing about EGP 7.6 above its pre-conflict level.
Gulf currencies followed similarly, with the Kuwaiti dinar at EGP 175.05, the Bahraini dinar at EGP 143.23, the Omani riyal at EGP 139.45, and the Jordanian dinar at EGP 75.83.
Per CBE data, major currencies have appreciated between EGP 1.5 and EGP 17.92 against the pound since the onset of the conflict.
Gold
Gold prices fluctuated throughout the week. The gold sovereign (geneih dahab) remained stable from last week’s Thursday, standing at EGP 56,000 until this Monday, before falling to EGP 55,280 on Tuesday, then increasing by EGP 320 to EGP 55,600 this Thursday’s COB, according to gold trading platform iSagha.
Meanwhile, 24-karat gold also remained stable from last week’s rate of EGP 8,000 until Monday, before falling to EGP 7,897.25, then gaining EGP 45.5 to settle at EGP 7,942.75.
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