Egypt’s pound steady at official market

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) kept the pound steady at 7.73 per dollar in a foreign exchange auction on Sunday, unchanged from last sale, the bank posted on its website.

Earlier in July, the CBE allowed the local currency to weaken in two concecutive depreciations in less than a week each by 10 piasters, after holding it steady at 7.53 per dollar for five straight months.

The move dragged the pound to its lowest level since the CBE started FX auctions in December 2012.

“The bank offered $40 million and sold 37.8 million at a cutoff price of 7.73 EGP per dollar,” the central bank said Sunday.

The dollar was sold at banks at 7.83 EGP on Sunday, 0.10 EGP above the official rate.