Egypt keeps customs exchange rate at 16.5 pounds/dlr in May

Egypt has kept its customs exchange rate steady at 16.5 pounds per dollar, 10 percent below the market price of the dollar for May, Amr al-Munir, deputy Finance minister for fiscal policies, told Reuters.

Egypt's inflation rate has soared since it floated its currency last November, with annual urban consumer price inflation hitting 30.9 percent in March - its highest level in more than three decades.

The exchange rate in Egyptian banks is around 18.9 pounds per dollar.

The central bank ditched its foreign exchange peg at 8.8 pounds per dollar in early November, and to help stabilize the newly-floated currency, it raised interest rates by 300 basis points.