Egypt will keep a customs dollar rate at a fixed 16 pounds for October effective the first of the month, Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy said on Saturday. In September, the customs exchange rate dropped from 16.25 pounds to 16 pounds per dollar. The rate of the customs dollar is revised every 15 days. Egypt began laying a monthly fixed customs exchange rate in January 2017 after the country decided to liberalise its currency in November 2016. The official exchange rate of the Egyptian pound against the greenback is 17.6 pounds, according to three major banks in Egypt surveyed on Saturday. The customs exchange is set at a rate that is slightly lower than the official exchange rate. Last November, the CBE freely floated the pound from its fixed rate of 8.88 pounds against the dollar as part of a set of economic reforms aimed at boosting Egypt's flagging economy. Egypt's foreign reserves registered $36.143 billion at the end of August 2017, continuing a rising streak at pre-2011 levels for the first time since the 25 January uprising. The reserves have been climbing since Egypt signed an agreement for a three-year $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last November. The popular uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak in 2011 led to a period of political turmoil that dried up Egypt's vital sources of foreign currency, such as tourism and foreign investment. Source: Ahram online
