
An employee of a money changer counts U.S. dollar notes for a customer at a bank in Cairo, December 31, 2013 (Photo: Reuters)
Egypt’s central bank (CBE) is to hold its fourth exceptional FOREX auction selling $1.5 billion on Monday, according to CBE
The CBE introduced the auctions mechanism at the end of 2012 to help stave off a run on the pound.
Banks and state-run bodies buy the dollars to import staple commodities, raw materials and pharmaceutical components.
Over 2013, the CBE held three exceptional FOREX auctions through which the bank sold $600 million in April, $800 million in May and $1.3 billion in September.
In 2013, the Egyptian pound lost 9 percent of its value against the US dollar.
Short link: