Foreign currencies continued their decline against the Egyptian pound in Egyptian banks for the second consecutive week. According to the average exchange rates of currencies against the Egyptian pound in the Central Bank, the price of the dollar dropped from 47.76 pounds for buying and 47.90 pounds for selling to 46.60 pounds for buying and 46.74 pounds for selling.
Similarly, the price of the euro decreased from 52.24 pounds for buying and 52.40 pounds for selling to 50.89 pounds for buying and 51.05 pounds for selling. The exchange rate of the British pound also decreased from 61.18 pounds for buying and 61.37 pounds for selling to 59.49 pounds for buying and 59.69 pounds for selling. Furthermore, the price of the Saudi riyal decreased from 12.73 pounds for buying and 12.77 pounds for selling to 12.42 pounds for buying and 12.46 pounds for selling.
Moreover, the exchange rate of the UAE dirham decreased from 13 pounds for buying and 13.04 pounds for selling in the Egyptian Central Bank to 12.68 pounds for buying and 12.73 pounds for selling. Similarly, the Kuwaiti dinar decreased from 155.43 pounds for buying and 156.04 pounds for selling to 151.60 pounds for buying and 152.10 pounds for selling.
This comes after two weeks of the decision by the Egyptian Central Bank to implement a flexible exchange rate system, resulting in an increase in the volume of remittances of Egyptians abroad. Dollar holders relinquished their holdings in official channels due to the absence of a difference between the official rate and the rate in the parallel market. Additionally, indirect foreign investment flows began to return, whether in government debt instruments or in the stock market.
The Central Bank received dollar inflows from the first tranche of the Ras Al Hekma development deal amounting to 10 billion dollars, in addition to relinquishing 5 billion dollars of Emirati deposits. It is expected to receive another 16 billion dollars within less than two months, in addition to relinquishing 6 billion dollars of Emirati deposits. Furthermore, the Central Bank will receive the first tranches of the International Monetary Fund loan, which increased in value from 3 to 8 billion dollars.
The Central Bank is also expected to receive over a billion dollars from the IMF's Environmental Sustainability Fund. Additionally, the World Bank Group agreed to provide 6 billion dollars in funding over the next three years, with 3 billion dollars to support the government's economic reform program and 3 billion dollars to empower the private sector. Moreover, the European Union package, worth 7.4 billion euros (8.06 billion dollars) over four years, focuses on various sectors.
The government focuses on using foreign cash flows to release accumulated goods at ports, including basic commodities, raw materials, and production requisites. It also aims to settle international obligations and repay foreign partners to encourage them to expand production from oil fields.
