Egypt's Ministry of Finance set the customs dollar Wednesday evening at an exchange rate of EGP 16, effective as of Thursday, state news agency MENA reported. The new rate reflects the recent leap in the Egyptian pound's value against the greenback, which currently registers an average of EGP 16.4 compared to an average of EGP 18.5 earlier this month. According to the ministry the new rate will remain in effect until the end of February and will then be revised. Last month, Egypt fixed the exchange rate of the customs dollar at EGP 18.5, after the pound's value weakened significantly to register more than EGP 19 against the dollar only one month after the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) decided to float the pound. In November, the CBE freely floated the pound as part of an economic reform programme. Earlier this month, The CBE said the country's foreign reserves reached $26.3 billion at the end of January 2017, up from $24.2 billion in December 2016. The increase in foreign reserves came as Egypt received a total of $4 billion in yields from Eurobonds issued on the global bond market, in addition to the first tranche of a loan from the International Monetary Fund worth $2.75 billion -- part of a $12-billion financing package. Egypt held $36 billion in reserves before the 2011 uprising, which overthrew long-time president Hosni Mubarak, ushered in a period of political turmoil, scaring away tourists and foreign investors -- two key sources of foreign currency.
