The exchange rate of the US dollar has witnessed on Monday a massive rise against the Egyptian pound recording EGP 6.925 (sell price) and EGP 6.85 (buy price). Forex experts said such a rise is a normal response as the demand on the foreign exchange is back much stronger as economic activities resumed after Eid El-Fitr vacation. Belal Khalil, deputy head of the exchange division of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (GFCC), attributed the recent upwards in the exchange rate of US dollar to the higher demand on the foreign currency. He mentioned that such upward is a message to reassure the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that exchange rates in the forex market are based on demand and supply; while the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) works on not having dollarization process. He also added that security concerns reversely affect the forex market amid the drop in the state's foreign-currency revenues. This leads the foreign currency to push up due to the foreign investors' worries which would force them to withdraw from the Egyptian market. Accordingly, the exchange rates of the foreign currencies rise against the Egyptian Pound. In the meanwhile, Reda Awwad – the chairman of Al-Rawda Exchange – has attributed the rise in the US dollar exchange rates to the higher demand after the Eid vacation in which various economic activities resume. He said before the Eid, there was a relative stability in the exchange rates alongside some humble downwards due to lower demand. Awwad forecasted that within the coming period, US dollar exchange rates will witness some stability. “The return of security will greatly contribute to having more foreign-currency revenues which would then compensate for the continual downwards in the foreign reserves which hit EGP 14.4 billion by the end of last July.
