Egyptian treasury bills saw a climb in sales as the recent devaluation of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar boosted investor appetite
Egypt has received $925 million in the local foreign exchange market since Wednesday’s sharp currency devaluation which saw the Egyptian pound fall in value by more than 16%, boosting the country’s reserves of hard currency, revealed the Central bank of Egypt (CBE) yesterday.
The inflow of foreign currency came from local sources, remittances from Egyptians working abroad, and tourism during the period, explained the CBE, calling it “positive indicators” for the local exchange market.
Egyptian treasury bills saw a climb in sales as the recent devaluation of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar boosted investor appetite.
The CBE noted that interbank trading activity was up more than 20% in terms of the recent daily average within the last 3 days.
The actual amount that was pumped into the interbank market last Thursday has varied; Reuter’s sources stated that more than $800 million was traded, while state news agency MENA reported around $650-750 million.
In yesterday’s statement, the CBE emphasized that these indicators represent positive improvements for the exchange rate in the country, particularly as the EGP stabilizes against the USD in recent days which has mainly stayed within the 29 range since Thursday. (29.7 against the USD at 11:31 am CT)
On Wednesday, the EGP saw its fastest single-day fall since October’s devaluation. The switch was a condition for the recent $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
