Egypt's currency weakens to 26.49 to the dollar

The Egyptian pound weakened to 26.49 to the dollar on Wednesday, its biggest one-day move since the central bank allowed it to fall by 14.5% on Oct. 27, according Refinitiv Data.

It was about 24.70 to the dollar at the opening of the trading day.

Currency flexibility has been a key demand by the International Monetary Fund, which approved a 46-month, $3 billion financial rescue package in October.

Egypt had been seeking the loan since March, after the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine aggravated a foreign currency shortage, causing a sharp slowdown in imports and a backlog of goods in ports.