Cairo – Mubasher: The US dollar extended its fall against the Egyptian pound on Sunday, reaching EGP 15.8 in three banks.
The US dollar recorded EGP 15.8 for buying at Faisal Islamic Bank, Suez Canal Bank, and the Principal Bank for Development & Agricultural Credit (PBDAC), and EGP 15.9 for selling.
Purchase prices ranged between EGP 15.8 and EGP 16 at other banks, whereas selling ranged between EGP 15.9 and EGP 16.05.
The Export Development Bank of Egypt (EXPA) offered the highest buying and selling prices of EGP 16 and EGP 16.05, respectively.
Meanwhile, Banque Misr offered EGP 15.85 for buying and EGP 15.9 for selling, whereas the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) offered EGP 15.84 and EGP 15.89 for buying and selling, respectively.
Five banks, namely Banque du Caire, EG Bank, the National Bank of Greece (NBG), Misr Iran Development Bank (MIDB), and Baraka Bank, traded the greenback at EGP 15.95 for buying and EGP 16.05 for selling.
Late Thursday, the USD dropped below the EGP 16 mark – its first record drop since the flotation of the Egyptian pound against the US currency on 3 November 2016.
Analysts polled by Mubasher recently attributed the decline in the US currency against the EGP to the increased inflow of USD-denominated cash by foreigners investing in the Egyptian government's treasury bills and bonds added to a rise in the currency’s supply. They noted, however, that the decline was likely to be temporary.
In November, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) decided to float the Egyptian pound against the US currency so that the pricing is set by the supply of and demand for the greenback. The CBE also raised interest rates by 300 basis points.
