When is Egypt expected to devaluate its currency again?

There is another devaluation expected for the Egyptian pound, the 4thh since March 2022, and there is a lot of anticipation of when it will happen and how it can affect debt and trade.

There are reports, led by Citigroup that predict that the Central Bank of Egypt may delay the devaluation of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar until the end of June.

Currently, the official dollar exchange rate is at around 30 Egyptian pounds, while on the black market, it trades for as high as 38-40 EGP.

There is a lot of pressure on Egypt to adopt a flexible exchange rate that reflects its needs for finance and supply and demand. This is also a requirement from the IMF upon signing the loan deal with Egypt for around $3 billion in 2022, as part of the economic reforms needed to acquire the loan.

Meanwhile, the government is working on boosting the economy and maintaining the deficit at a reasonable level. Experts argue that a devaluation before the end of June can seriously hinder those efforts.

There are reports that Egypt is waiting for the tourism revenue to create a cushion for the devaluation to happen. It is notable that Egypt is expecting around $14 billion in revenue from tourism this year.

Traders, investors, and the international business community are waiting for the devaluation in order to act on their promises of investment, this is the case especially for deals signed with GCC countries.