Egypt’s currency drop barely closes gap with black market rate

The Egyptian currency slid to a new record but remains far stronger than rates quoted in the black market, underscoring the risk of further depreciation as the North African nation grapples with a foreign-exchange crunch.

Bucking the strength of its peers in emerging markets, the pound extended last week’s devaluation of 9% and fell 1.6% as of 4:22 p.m. in Cairo on Monday. It traded near 27.6 per dollar, compared with the parallel exchange rate of around 31, according to traders.