Egypt Pound Weakens at Auction, Stronger on Black Market

The Egyptian pound slipped at a central bank foreign exchange auction on Monday but strengthened on the black market ahead of mass anti-government demonstrations called for June 30.

The central bank said it sold $38.8 million to banks at the auction, with the cut-off price weaker at 6.9992 pounds to the dollar compared to 6.9938 at Thursday’s auction.

On the black market, one dealer in central Cairo quoted 7.60 pounds to buy dollars and 7.65 pounds to sell dollars, down from 7.65 and 7.70 pounds on Thursday.

The central bank introduced the auctions at the end of December to help stave off a currency crisis and thwart a run on the pound. Since then, the currency has lost more than 11 percent of its value on the official market.

Source: Reuters