
A man stands outside an exchange bureau in Cairo December 30, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)
Egypt's cabinet stated on Wednesday it does not intervene in monetary policy following comments by the investment minister on the Egyptian pound value.
Ashraf Salman, the investment minister, told the Euromoney Egypt conference on Monday that 'there is no choice but to devalue the pound' as the dollar is gaining strength compared to other currencies.
'The central bank is solely entitled to decide on monetary and currency policy...the government does not at all interfere in either the currency policy or the monetary policy," read the cabinet statement.
The central bank (CBE) has limited a once thriving currency black market through measures such as a cap on dollar deposits.
The CBE last kept the pound at 7.73 to the dollar, where banks are allowed to trade at LE0.1 above or below that rate, while exchange bureaus are allowed a margin of LE0.15.
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