Egyptian pound steady at 7.73 to the dollar - central bank

Sunday 30-08-2015 01:56 PM
Egyptian pound steady at 7.73 to the dollar - central bank

United States one dollar bills are curled and inspected during production at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington November 14, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron

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CAIRO, Aug 30 (Aswat Masriya) - Egypt's central bank kept the pound unchanged at 7.73 against the dollar, in a foreign exchange auction on Sunday. 

The bank offered $40 million and sold $37.8 million at a "cut-off price of 7.7301," it said in an announcement on its website.   

The Egyptian central bank holds three weekly foreign exchange auctions, during which the price of the pound against the dollar is determined.  

Meanwhile, in banks dollar purchase cost 7.78 pounds and the dollar sold for 7.83. 

Egypt's central bank allows banks to trade the dollar at 10 piasters higher or lower than the auction price, while exchange shops can add another 5 piasters to the official price. 

Last month, the bank depreciated the Egyptian pound twice, allowing it to dip by 20 piasters, falling from 7.53 to its current price. Central Bank Governor Hisham Ramez said last month that the depreciation was not "concerning".

At the time, two investment bank analysts said the depreciation was an expected measure, given that the pound trades at a higher price than its fair value at a time when Egypt is trying to attract dollar inflows. 

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