Dollar rate stable for 2nd week in Egyptian banks

CAIRO – 2 April 2017: The U.S. dollar exchange rate held steady against the Egyptian pound for the second week in a row in Egypt’s major banks.

During Sunday’s transactions, the dollar recorded its highest buying and selling prices in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Bank of Alexandria, registering 18.12 EGP for buying and 18.22 EGP for selling, while the lowest prices were reported in the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque du Caire and Banque Misr with 18 EGP for buying and 18.1 EGP for selling.

In the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), the dollar recorded 18.08 EGP for buying and 18.19 EGP for selling.

In the Commercial International Bank (CIB), the dollar reached 18.1 EGP for buying and 18.2 EGP for selling.

To revive an economy hit by political turmoil and a foreign currency shortage, Egypt launched an ambitious reform program in November. The authorities applied a set of painful reforms including floating the local currency, introducing a value added tax and slashing energy subsidies.

Shortly after the flotation, the pound lost almost 50 percent of its value against the dollar.