Egypt: Banks told to sell dollars

EGYPTIAN banks were directed to sell dollars to food importers at a discount, as the country taps cash aid from its Gulf allies to fight the highest food inflation in five months. The central bank sold $500 million (R6 billion) to lenders on Monday, then instructed them to resell their share of the funds at 7.5501 Egyptian pounds (R11) per dollar. Egypt is taking advantage of $6bn received from Saudi Arabia, among others to alleviate a dollar shortage.