By: Mahmoud Salah Eldin
Cairo - Mubasher: The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Centeral Bank of Egypt (CBE) will by meeting on 17 October days after the anticipated decision regarding the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) loan to Egypt.
With the Egyptian government continuous efforts to raise the country’s foreign exchange reserve, analysts remain sure Egypt will soon float the pound, however, they disagree on the timing of the waited decision.
Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer previously said in February that the pound will not be floated until foreign reserves reach $25 to 30 million.
The country’s current foreign exchange reserve is $16.5 billion.
The head of research at Beltone Financial Hany Genena, believes the decision will be taken in the first week of October before the IMF meeting on 10 October, as creditors are not likely to offer loans with a price that will soon be decreased.
Genena also expects the CBE to hold an extraordinary meeting to raise the interest levels.
Floating the pound depends on agreeing the IMF loan and the finance from China and KSA, said analyst Mohamed Abo Basha of EFG Hermes.
He also expected the CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee to hold an extraordinary meeting before 17 November to raise the interest by between 150 to 200 points.
Floating the pound will be decided after the foreign reserve $20 billion, said Eman Negm analyst at Prime Research, she ruled out the possibility of another devaluation by the CBE.
According to Capital Economics, the Egyptian pound will decline by 25% to the level of EGP 12 per dollar by the end of 2016, and EGP 13.5 by the end of 2018.
Translated by: Moslem Ali
