Egypt pound officially hits LE7-to-dollar mark

Local currency reaches LE7 to US dollar on official exchange market following forex auction at Egypt's central bank

The Egyptian pound fell below LE7 to the US dollar on the official exchange market on Wednesday, following a foreign exchange auction.
The selling price of the Egyptian pound stood at 7.00 to the greenback after the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) auctioned off $38.9 million at LE6.9902 to the dollar.
In May, the official exchange rate reached LE7 to the dollar at commercial banks in Egypt, a rate unseen since 2003 – despite recent financial lifelines that Egypt has received from friendly nations.
Qatar has recently deposited $3 billion in the CBE for the purpose of buying treasury bonds at a rate of 3.5 percent.
Libya, too, recently deposited another $2 billion in the CBE, which helped Egypt's foreign currency reserves register their first increase in five months, recording $14.42 billion by the end of April.
On the black market, meanwhile, the cost of the Egyptian pound remained unchanged on Wednesday at 7.55/7.60 to the dollar.
The local currency has come under increased pressure as Egypt's economy struggles with political disturbances in the wake of the country's 2011 revolution, losing more than 11 percent of its value since last December.
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