The US dollar continued to rise against the Egyptian pound, increasing by 4 piasters over the past week, and 14 piasters over the last month.
The selling price of the US dollar is currently LE5.59 and the purchasing price LE5.61, compared to LE5.55 at the beginning of last week.
The Egyptian Central Bank (CBE) is examining the possibility of indirect intervention to help stabilize the current exchange rate, informed sources said.
Meanwhile, the euro has continued to decline, affected by the financial crisis in Greece. The euro currently sells at LE7.08 and is purchased at LE7.22. The euro is projected to plummet even further to LE5.65 next week.
The CBE is actively intervening in the currency exchange market in order to help the local economy create profits through exports and tourism industries, said a source at the Federation of Egyptian Banks. The CBE has also benefited by replacing the euro with the dollar in Egypt’s foreign reserve basket because of the euro’s decline, said the source.
Meanwhile, Ismail Hassan, a former governor of the CBE, said the CBE is not responsible for the Egyptian pound’s decline against the US dollar, as the CBE always converts its deposits from one currency to another. The currency exchange rate is determined by the forces of supply and demand, Hassan added.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
