Egyptian Pound (Photo: Reuters)
Egypt's central bank kept the Egyptian pound steady at LE7.73 per dollar at a foreign exchange auction on Sunday after a depreciation earlier last month. The pound remained steady at currency exchange bureaus.
The central bank said it had offered $40 million and sold $37.8 million at a cut-off price of LE7.7301 per dollar, unchanged from Thursday's rate.
The central bank held the pound at LE7.5301 for five months until earlier last month, when it allowed it to weaken to LE7.6301. On July 5, the bank let it slide a further LE0.10.
Analysts say letting the pound weaken in a controlled way could boost exports and attract further investment, but also raise Egypt's large bill for imported fuel and food staples.
Egypt has sought to tame a once-thriving currency black market with measures such as a cap on dollar-denominated bank deposits.
Two traders at currency exchange bureaus said the pound was changing hands at LE7.875/88 per dollar on Sunday, virtually unchanged from LE7.87/88 per dollar quoted on Thursday.
The central bank gave banks permission in January to trade dollars up to LE0.10 more or less than the official rate, with an extra LE0.05 for currency exchange bureaus.
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