Egypt's currency takes another blow, falls to 18.50 pounds to the dollar

The Egyptian pound slid to around 18.50 to the dollar on Tuesday morning from 18.27, a day after the country devalued the currency by 14%, Refinitiv data showed.

On Monday, Egypt devalued the currency from 15.7 pounds to the dollar, where it had remained mostly steady since November 2020.

The latest depreciation brings the total devaluation since Monday morning to just over 15%, close to the amount that at least some analysts had estimated it was overvalued by.

Egypt plans to restructure its public budget for fiscal year 2022/23 to cope with the global crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine, a cabinet statement said on Tuesday.

The central bank on Monday raised its key overnight lending and borrowing rates by one percentage point, state banks began selling one-year certificates of deposit to the public with a yield of 18%, and the government announced a 130 billion Egyptian pound ($7.05 billion) economic relief package. ($1 = 18.4500 Egyptian pounds) 

(Reuters)