Rapid currency slide chokes business in Egypt

Business is grinding to a near-halt in Egypt as companies struggle to keep pace with a rapid slide in the black market value of the pound. Factories are halting production, shops are running low on stocks and a sense of panic is spreading.

Bassem Hussein, whose company imports, processes and packages coffee and spices, stopped buying two weeks ago as the depreciation of the Egyptian currency gathered pace. His goods are still on sale at supermarkets but no more stock is on the way for now.

"No one knows what is happening. We stopped buying and selling two weeks ago. We're only doing retail," said Hussein, a manager at family-run Interfood. "It's not logical and it's not just us, it's all merchants."

The Egyptian pound has been falling on the black market since the 2011 revolution drove away tourists and foreign investors, vital sources of hard currency in an economy that relies on imports of everything from food to luxury cars.

But firms say a dramatic slide in the last few weeks has left them paralysed, unable to plan from one day to the next.

Black market traders were buying dollars at 17.5-17.85 pounds on Monday and selling them to importers at 18-18.2, representing a two-pound slide in a single week and five-pound slide on the month.