CAIRO: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) kept the pound steady at 7.73 per dollar in a foreign exchange (FX) auction on Sunday, unchanged from last sale, the bank posted on its website.
“The bank offered $40 million and sold 37.8 million at a cut-off price of 7.73 EGP per dollar,” the central bank said Sunday.
The local currency also steadied at exchange bureaux as the dollar was sold at 7.88 EGP, while the foreign currency was changing hands at 8.06 EGP in the parallel market, a trader told The Cairo Post, citing low turnout ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday.
He further expected a rise in the exchange rate after the Eid vacation.
Earlier in July, the CBE allowed the local currency to weaken in two consecutive depreciations in less than a week each by 10 piasters, after holding it steady at 7.53 per dollar for five straight months.
The last move dragged the pound to its lowest level since the CBE started FX auctions in December 2012.
Egypt’s central bank usually holds FX auctions on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday every week. Such auctions determine the rates at which banks can sell the dollar to clients.