Dollar soars to EGP 49.5 on first day of exchange rate liberalisation

The Egyptian pound plunged against the US dollar on Wednesday, as the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced the liberalisation of the exchange rate, allowing banks to set their rates based on supply and demand.

The average price of the dollar in the banking market reached EGP 49.4743 for buying and EGP 49.5743 for selling, according to the CBE, while the official price at the CBE was EGP 49.4320 for buying and EGP 49.5686 for selling.

Some banks offered the dollar at higher rates, with the highest being EGP 50.75 for buying and EGP 50.85 for selling at Credit Agricole Egypt, MID Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Egypt, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Egypt, and Emirates NBD.

The sharp devaluation of the pound also affected other foreign currencies, as the euro rose to EGP 53.7835 for buying and EGP 53.9120 for selling, and the pound sterling climbed to EGP 62.9164 for buying and EGP 63.0783 for selling.

The Saudi riyal, the Kuwaiti dinar, and the UAE dirham also appreciated against the pound, reaching EGP 13.1910, EGP 160.7926, and EGP 13.4697 for buying respectively, and EGP 13.2184, EGP 161.17, and EGP 13.4980 for selling respectively.