BREAKING: Egypt’s central bank liberalises pound currency

Egypt’s central bank decided to liberalise the exchange rate of the Egyptian pound, sending directives to the banks to determine the price of the local currency through the interbank mechanism.

“…, the Central bank of Egypt (CBE) moved to durably flexible exchange rate regime, leaving the forces of supply and demand to determine the value of the EGP against other foreign currencies, while prioritising the primary goal of achieving price stability, and building up sustainable, adequate levels of Foreign Exchange Reserves.” the central bank explained in a statement.

The move followed an exceptional monenetary policy meeting which decided to hike key interest rates by 200 basis points, setting the overnight lending rate at 14.25 percent and the overnight deposit rate at 13.25 percent.