Egypt central bank holds pound steady at 8.85 per USD at special auction

Egypt’s central bank will hold the Egyptian currency steady at 8.85 pounds per dollar at an exceptional foreign currency auction Tuesday, a state banking source told Amwal Al Ghad, a day after the bank devalued the currency.

The central bank announced earlier on Tuesday it would sell $200 million at an exceptional auction to finance the import of essential goods.

The pound had been under heavy pressure in recent weeks, weakening to almost 10 to the dollar on the black market as foreign currency liquidity dried up in the banking sector.

On Monday the bank partially devalued the pound to 8.85 per dollar from 7.73 per dollar and said it would pursue a more flexible exchange rate. The new rate means banks can buy dollars from customers at 8.9 pounds and sell them at 8.95 pounds.