Egypt’s pound strengthens 7.6% against U.S. dollar in 7 months

The Egyptian pound strengthened by 7.6 percent against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of the year, according to data compiled by Amwal Al Ghad.

The currency was trading at an average of 17.8693 to the dollar on 31 December 2018 compared to 16.5156 on 31 July 2019. At banks, it has held from 17.9559 to 16.6156 to the dollar over the last seven months.

The pound will continue to notably perform well, said Sara Saada, chief economist at Egyptian investment bank HC Securities, expecting it will reach 17.43 against the U.S. dollar during the 2019/2020 financial year.

The currency exchange rate will stablise by the end of the year and later will mildly depreciate to reach 18.25 against the U.S. dollar during the 2020/2021, Saada added.

The recent strong performance can be attributed to the fact that carry trades were flourishing with the Egyptian pound, she said.