Egyptian officials are noting a downtrend in the demand for the US dollar, as well as its price, as result of the high turnout for purchasers of the Suez Canal certificates.
"In case the government offered the certificates in dollars, its price will sharply decline reaching below the value stated by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE)," Ali al-Hariri, deputy of exchange department at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, said. "The dollar decreased by more than 7 pt on Thursday in the black market, reaching LE7.35 and we are expecting further decline."
CBE decided to extend the work hours until 6 pm due to the high demand.
National Bank of Egypt said in a statement on Sunday that the dollar's selling price stood at LE7.15, while the buying price was LE7.18.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
