The Egyptian pound was stable at a dollar sale on Thursday, with the central bank selling $37.1 million at a cut-off price of 7.7301 pounds per dollar, with the currency also steady on the parallel market. Earlier this month the central bank surprised the market by strengthening the pound by 20 piasters from 7.9301 pounds to the dollar. The official cut-off price was unchanged from Sunday's dollar sale, but two traders said the dollar changed hands at 8.59/.61 pounds in the parallel market on Thursday, compared with 8.60 pounds on Tuesday. Egypt announced in October that Hesham Ramez would be replaced as central bank governor this month by senior banker Tarek Amer. The move was welcomed by traders, who expect a new approach to the country's currency crisis. Cairo has sought to tame a once-thriving currency black market with measures such as a cap on dollar-denominated bank deposits. The central bank gave permission in January to trade dollars up to 0.10 pounds above or below the official rate, with currency exchange bureaux allowed to trade at 0.15 pounds above or below the official rate. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/171840.aspx
